Learning is an inseparable
part of human life. It is said that you are not better than what you know.
According to the Conc. Thesaurus dictionary, Learning is defined as knowledge
or skills acquired through experience or study or by being taught. Of a
truth, it is very difficult to soar beyond one’s knowledge in any facet of life
hence, it is expedient to seek knowledge if we (individual and the society at
large must progress). It is important to know that we all continue to learn
everyday be it that we are young or old, whether actively or passively,
consciously or unconsciously, learning continues! The learning process could be
formal (training received in school) or informal (unofficial).
For
the formal learning process, reading is an integral part. It is worthy of note
taking that no teacher or lecturer can give you all that you need. If you
desire to be an excellent student or what many people will call an outstanding
student, you have got to go an extra mile by getting more information on any
topic, subject or concept than what your facilitator has given you – this is
what makes an excellent student. Remember, people who are outstanding do not have more time than others in a day but they make better use of theirs.
From
the above definition of learning, three processes of learning can be identified
viz: Experience, Study and being taught .The Advanced Learners” dictionary defines
experience as the knowledge or skill w hich
is obtained from doing, seeing or feeling things. Since doing and seeing are
involved in the experience process, we could say there is reading experience
because sight and action are very much involved while reading. Being taught of
course simply refer to you listening to someone as he/she dishes out
instructions on how to get something done or when action is involved, you watch
the person do it. However, there is more to study. While learning through
experience and being taught something could either be passive or active, study
will always be active.
Study
has been defined in a number of ways:
ü To examine something very
carefully.
ü To learn about a subject,
especially in an educational course or by reading books.
ü To examine a subject in
detail in order to discover new information.
All three definitions are
from the Advanced Learners’ dictionary. From all of the above definitions of
study, it is of great importance to state that reading is important, that
reading is of a necessity to achieve this great task. Though this could be coupled
with creative thinking to bring about practical applications to human life and how
to use their reservoir of knowledge to better the present situation of mankind
for students who still want to be different among the so called ”excellent
students”. Remember, Garbage In Garbage Out! Also, a man diligent in his works
shall stand before kings and not mean (average) men. The same way, he who sows
sparingly shall reap sparingly while he who shows bountifully shall reap
bountifully.
I am more than sure that a lot of Nigerians particularly
the students are probably more aware than me about these facts. All these are
not really new topic of discussions; they’ve been said a lot of times. It is
even a possibility that a vast majority can talk better about these than my
humble self but yet, we continue to have problems with our studies, skill
acquisitions and in brevity all our life endeavours. It is obvious that not a
lot of us are paying the price but of a truth we all want to get good results.
Now, have you ever stopped to reflect on what Nigerian
youths prefer to his/her studies, career or even his/her spiritual life? Well,
my answers may be as good as yours! What is supposed to be a “blessing” is
looking like a “curse”. The sudden escalation in the use of electronic gadgets,
the increasing use of social media, the ever improving internet connectivity
have all done more harms than good. To avoid misconception, I must say in clear
terms that the above are good and still have their innumerable merits but there
is a way they interfere and take away valuable and precious times away without
us noticing it.
If well used and maximum advantages are taken, the afore-mentioned
platforms could be so educative and informative. The platform provided on which
the net can be surfed in a flash and information gotten as fast as you can ever
think of – it must be said that life is made ridiculously simpler and easier.
Compared to our fathers era when they have to sit in one magnificent library
searching through humongous books (encyclopedia) and a lot of volumes just to get
a piece of information. Or, shall we talk about the opportunities technology
has afforded us to send messages on different platforms as it is convenient for
us within a twinkle of an eye. The great speed of the Short Message Service
(SMS), the convenience of sending and receiving files and documents over the
Electronic-mail service within split seconds, the unexplainable joy you
experience when you share files of events with your friends and family members
who are missing out real time.
The above are in sharp contrasts with the old day’s ways
of doing things. The tiring paper-pen way of writing a letter, posting the
letter is another gruesome experience in which it may take weeks for a parcel
to be moved from Lagos to Ibadan, Nigeria. Many times, the messages arrive so
late that it is even better not received. All of these and many others,
technology has provided solution to, but that does not mean that all that
technology has brought to us are good.
These days, an average
Nigerian youth enjoys the company of his/her electronic gadgets: the blackberry
phones, the smart phones, the tablets, iPods, iPads and a host of other android
operating devices not to talk of a wide range of accessory devices,
applications and a variety of laptops. However, the inquisitive and probing
question is “how much of the operations are innovative, educative,
life-impacting and life-changing?” The answer will be; “very infinitesimal!”.
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