"The Power of Critical Thinking and Lifelong Learning in Education and Beyond"

 

"The Power of Critical Thinking and Lifelong Learning in Education and Beyond"


Albert Einstein, a German mathematician and physicist who developed the special and general theories of relativity was once asked what the speed of sound was, to which he replied "I do not carry such information in my mind since it is readily available in books. The value of a college education is not learning of the many facts but training of the mind to think".


I remember back in school how I would memorize just to pass and forget everything afterwards and thought those who were good at memorizing were more intelligent than I was not knowing that we all have special abilities. If I had read Albert Einstein's quote much earlier in life, I would have looked at the whole thing differently. Albert Einstein once said "Everybody is a born genius, but if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree then it will live its whole life thinking it was stupid".


The best use of your brain is not to memorize, remember or store information and sadly that's what most formal education is based on and calls people who are able to do that intelligent.  What you do with what you have learnt is what is more important.One needs to use their brain to process information, solve problems through thinking and find a way to improve, upgrade your reality and improve their  life and other people's lives. That is why Richard Buckminster Fuller also said "Everyone is born a genius, but the process of living de-geniuses them".


Intelligence is not about knowing what already exists. It's about doing something with information that is already there. Why memorise things that are already there? Then what? Some people will learn that there are 54 countries in Africa and memorize that and get their certificate and start feeling on top on the world. Robert Kiyosaki said "Your education begins when you leave school not when you are in School". Education is not supposed to end but what I've noticed is that these certificates make people proud. They think they have it all not knowing that the world is ever changing and evolving. Don't let that certificate stop you from learning. I think them titles make people proud and limits their learning. How can one be proud of information that is obsolete to a point of not wanting to learn more.


Infact if whatever you know can be found on Google, then you are simply testing your memory. Your focus should not be on your ability to remember what you read but your ability to think and analyse what you read. We should reach a point where questions asked will bring out the creativity and make a student tm think such that their answers should help in the development of the country. Children must be taught how to think and not what to think. This will also reduce copying from one student to another because no two students can think exactly the same. 


A.J Juliani said "Our job is not to prepare students for something, we must prepare students for anything". Albert Einstein said "Education is not the learning of facts but training of the mind to think" . Exams inventor Henry Fischel, a philanthropist, and businessman devised exams to assess students overall topic knowledge as well as their ability to apply that information. I think we should focus on the last part, then  apply that information. As Albert Einstein said, "Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid."

We all have different abilities and can't judge and shouldn't judge everyone on the same scale.


Be curious, read widely. Try new things. What people call intelligence boils down to curiosity (Aaron Swartz). In a world that is always evolving, become very curious and be always learning and implementing. It will open up your mind to start thinking bigger and different. The people who are successful are like that because they know something you don't know. I definitely agree with Jim O'Shaughnessy when  he  said "All of the smartest people Ive met regardless of where they have received their formal education, were mostly self-taught, incredibly curious and voracious readers".

Thanks for Reading 


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