Dream Nation Presents: Creative Studying (Full Length)
WATCH. ENJOY. SHARE WITH A FRIEND!
Andre Anderson
We need to talk about the future of the educational system
Our national education had a purpose, to prepare people for the 'outside world'. The 'outside world' had millions of machines that needed to be supervised. Trains. Buses. Shopping tills. You didn't need to be creative or a world-class problem-solver to supervise these machines, you just needed to be good at remembering and following instructions. That's why the current educational system focused on memorisation as it's main method of teaching. The more you memorise, the more qualifications you'll get. The more qualifications you get, the more you'll get paid. This system worked, but only for a time.
The problem now is that the machines we are educated to supervise no longer need our supervision. The trains can drive themselves. Employees are no longer needed to be at a till when the costumers know how to scan their own shopping. Apps and computer programs are nullifying the need for human labour unless you are one of the two people:
1. Someone who can solve problems (or provide new solutions to a company or institution)
2. Someone who has an amazing personality (for the 'human touch' in costumer service jobs)
Everyone else is everyone else.
Our current education system is training young people for a world that no longer exists; teaching us to memorise information that can be easily searched up with the phones in our pocket, while neglecting to teach us the creative skills that would keep money in our pocket. If education is really a place that empowers our citizens, then creative problem-solving and character building needs to be embedded into every subject in the curriculum.
Creativity and character. The two things schools need to encourage in its students is creativity and character.
Make education work for you
How is it possible spend 6 hours a day, for 18+ years in an educational institution, yet still not feel educated? How can we spend years learning english, yet not know how to write an email or hold a conversation? We spend years learning maths but are never taught how to file taxes or save money. Education should prepare its students for action, not memorisation. Anything besides that is time-filling. If you're still in education, when in class, always find ways to apply what you're learning to your everyday life. Everything becomes more worthwhile that way.
Education is everywhere!
When studying, realise that anything can be used as a metaphor to help you remember concepts. Just ask yourself 'what does this remind me of?'. Create 2-3 metaphors or analogies that reminds you of what you are studying. Choose the best metaphor out of the 3. Use that metaphor repeatedly to strengthen your memory. Studying made easy!
The power of metaphors
The real trick to studying is to find ways to connect what you're currently learning to the things you love to do outside of class.
The original purpose of education
The word education comes from the Latin root 'educare' which means 'to rise up'. Education was not originally seen as a system that fills empty heads with knowledge, but a method that brings best out of its students. An entire forrest can be found in the smallest of seeds, you just need to plant it in the right environment. It's the same with education. Everyone is a genius. Education should be an environment that brings the genius out of us.
Education should never be boring. Ever. It’s time we put creativity back into education. ‘Creative Studying’ is a methodology that suggests that the more you enjoy your studying, the more you will remember in the long run. I will be creating content as well as running workshops based on Creative Studying in the upcoming months. Follow me on this journey. Bring a friend too. #CreativeStudying