We hope that you will go along with the suggestion that learning permeates most, if not all, aspects of our lives. The quote that follows is from Peter Jarvis, an academic who has spent many years trying to set out why learning is so important. In the opening to a recent book he suggests:
Figure 7 Peter JarvisLong description(Jarvis, 2006, p. 3)Learning is like food, ingest it and it will enrich the whole human being: unlike food, it is difficult to have too much. It is possible to eat the wrong things and it is likewise possible to learn the wrong things … the processes of learning are a fundamental stimulus to life itself and without it the human body could never transcend its biological state, nor could the individual function effectively in the wider society. It is essential to our humanity …
Jarvis is making a very strong claim about the importance of learning here. It is worth unpicking this statement in order to see what it really means and to see whether you agree with it. Jarvis compares learning with food. Do you think that this is a fair comparison? Do you think that if people do not learn, they will die? At first this seems quite a startling thing to say. However, when you consider that if someone fails to learn about things that are dangerous (like hot objects or speeding cars) they may put themselves at considerable risk. Jarvis also suggests that while it is difficult to have too much learning it is possible to learn ‘wrong things?. These wrong things can include negative beliefs about ourselves as well as facts that are inaccurate. This densely packed quote then finishes with three more very big claims about learning. The first is that learning is a fundamental stimulus to life. The second is that without learning human beings can never transcend their biology. The third is that learning enables people to function effectively in society.
Take each of the three statements below and note what you think Jarvis might mean. Also say what you think about his comment.
Here Jarvis seems to repeat his claim that learning is as important to life as food. He is also implying that learning can make life more satisfying and interesting. It is what keeps us going forward in our lives, perhaps encouraging us to seek new experiences.
Here learning seems very different from food. Our bodies need food to keep them going ? so we can never transcend (or move beyond) our body?s need for food. However, learning is very different. If we learn about geography we can, for example, find out about places that we might never physically visit. If we learn about history, we can gather information about events that happened long before we were born. Similar points can be made about learning about religion or nuclear physics.
This suggests that through learning we find how to get on with other people and how to make sense of all the social situations which we come across on a daily basis. (Because Jim knew something about how the college operated, he knew that he could ask the receptionist for directions.)
Jarvis argues that learning occurs as a result of each and every experience that we have. Being aware of this can put people in a stronger position to change ? as it can increase our control over our experiences and give us a greater ability to deal with what life throws at us. This puts people in a position to achieve personal change. According to Jarvis (2006, p. 13), learning is the basis of personal change because it enables us to use our experiences in ways that can transform us.
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