Learning

What do we learn through our lives.  Julie has recorded several peoples opinions on what we learn and when.

Transcript

SPEAKER_05 0:37

Welcome once again to World at War with Itself. Julie Finch Scalli with Eugene. Hello. This week we are looking at learning, one of those things in life that involves everyone. It is amazing how many different opinions people have on learning, and because of this I decided to ask several people about their thoughts on the subject. I asked everyone the same question, and I'm sure you will find their answers interesting. The first question I asked was, what are your thoughts about learning as a child as well as an adult?

SPEAKER_02 1:10

I think you can learn in different ways and it varies according to person from person to person.

SPEAKER_07 1:19

Well, as a professional educator for 43 years, my interest has always been in education. Lifelong learning, as we say. My feeling is that the sooner human beings get learning, it never stops. It goes forever. We need inquisitive minds, people who are curious, who want to know why things happen, how things happen, and to keep edging the educating themselves to the last day they're on Earth.

SPEAKER_03 1:52

I've always been interested in learning. I've been very inquisitive as a child, still inquisitive as an adult. Learning is a lifelong just a part of living.

SPEAKER_01 2:03

Yeah, look, I think um I remember still remember things about my formal education, about primary school and high school, and I think there was there was highlights that always come to mind even though they weren't necessarily important at the time. I've always had a good memory for trivia and facts that I've learned. Um I think I learned a lot of facts in my school days.

SPEAKER_06 2:26

Right. When I was a child, I just went to school and enjoyed the the schooling that I had, never thought about learning. It just happened. And as an adult, I think you wished that you'd had done more.

SPEAKER_04 2:41

Well, when I was a child, I absolutely loved school. I really loved learning. As an adult, I think I think we never stop learning. And I think that uh once we stop learning, we've stopped really living.

SPEAKER_08 2:55

To me personally, education is is vital and right up through the rest of your life. I think you should always be opening up to learning.

SPEAKER_00 3:03

Yeah, I think it's something you should always be trying to do. I don't think it's something that starts and stops necessarily. I and at least for me, it's really important that I'm always learning something new. Yeah, whether it you're a kid or an adult, I think that's always important.

SPEAKER_05 3:19

This is a second question I asked. Do you think life experiences are just as important as formal education?

SPEAKER_04 3:25

In fact, I think that life experience is probably more important than education, although I think a a good education gives you the ability to take advantage of life experiences.

SPEAKER_07 3:40

I don't think they're the same. I think that the way our society is structured and our economy is structured, that uh the formalities of getting certificates and pieces of paper demand that people jump through certain succeed at certain examination levels and accessment, and that that will open the door for their working life substantially. I think maybe life experience becomes more important as we get on.

SPEAKER_03 4:11

Not always. I believe formal education really lays the groundwork so that you can have better life experiences.

SPEAKER_01 4:19

Look, I think both are important. Life experience certainly is something which is ongoing, which means that you adapt the way you think about things to the way life is. Your formal education gives you a framework for thinking about things, but I think I can identify things in my my actual life which are relevant to those things.

SPEAKER_02 4:40

There's a difference between theoretical learning and physical learning. And not everyone learns in the same way. And some people learn better through going out and doing things, whereas others learn better through books.

SPEAKER_08 4:56

Yeah, I think your experiences apart from uh in a library are just as important.

SPEAKER_00 5:02

I'd say in some cases probably more important than formal education. I think you definitely need both.

SPEAKER_05 5:11

And the final question was what is the most important thing you feel everyone should learn?

SPEAKER_03 5:17

How to love and live and get along with the people, even if you may not like them or even agree with them. You were on all on the same planet and we need to get along.

SPEAKER_04 5:27

I think kindness is the most important thing that we should really try to develop in our lives.

SPEAKER_01 5:35

I think people should learn how to relax and how to be able to turn off from serious things. There's a lot of serious things nowadays, and I think it's good to be informed and to be active in trying to change things or reinforce things, but it's also important that you're able to turn off and sleep properly and and relax at times and have fun as well.

SPEAKER_06 5:58

I think everyone should learn first is be taught by your parents' manners. The most important thing is to be literate and numerate.

SPEAKER_02 6:11

How to read.

SPEAKER_08 6:17

And writing to a slightly lesser extent.

SPEAKER_00 6:21

I feel you can give so many different right answers to that. But whether that's the most important thing anyone can learn, I'm not so sure on. For example, something I've talked about a lot with my partner is that something we didn't learn at school was stuff like budgeting and like how to manage your finances, which then a lot we have struggled with and a lot of our friends have struggled with, and it wasn't taught in school to us. So that's also really important. Yeah, I don't think there's any one answer.

SPEAKER_05 6:52

I'd like to thank Greg, Chris, Sally and Karen, as well as Nikki, Marilyn, Stuart and Andy, for assisting me with this episode. I do hope you found their thoughts about learning to be enlightening. Until next week, this is Julie Finch Scalli from a World of War with Itself signing off. Please join me then, you can't get a lot of people.