a forever student
While writing my last blog, I came across a realization — I was wondering if I take courses just to pass, and that’s pretty much true. I aim too low and then fly too close to the land. That’s not a mindset one should have.
A person should have a mindset of optimism. Every course and degree has its own usefulness, and they are taught to help you learn something. Moreover, you choose them because you believe they add value to your education.
When you take a course, you should study it thoroughly, learn all the prerequisites, and engage with the way the professor wants to teach it. They are offering a certain flavor to the course — a perspective or method — which you can learn to appreciate.
A heat transfer course, for example, might be purely conceptual. You might be asked what happens in a particular physical situation, and your reasoning is tested. That’s one valid way of studying.
Another valid approach is problem-based. You take simple problems and add layers of real-life complexity, requiring engineering insight and structured thinking to solve — the kind of skills you can apply outside the classroom.
Both approaches have their merits and demerits. I’m not in a place to judge which is better. My point is: you should enjoy the method in which a course is being taught, and learn to appreciate its distinct character.
A chicken curry doesn’t taste the same everywhere because it’s prepared by different people — but you don’t stop eating chicken. You learn to appreciate the unique taste wherever you go.
Perhaps that’s what education is like. Or perhaps learning in general.