Learning to Learn The Forgotten Pleasures of Civilized Education

Dhanada K Mishra, PhD (University of Michigan)

Dean Research, KIIT University
Crisis in Education
Among the many crises facing our society today, the one with respect to our education system is indeed a grave
one and has far reaching consequences. Not very long ago, I have the distinct memory of a different society, which
knew a thing or two about the essentials of teacher-student relationship and the teaching-learning process. Its
amazing how quickly such a healthy tradition can degenerate in to mindless drudgery to no ones benefit and
dreadful consequences in the long run.
Indias long history is studded with glowing example of what education should be. This tradition is still alive in
very small pockets thanks to some esoteric art forms such as Dhrupad for example. Recently a very interesting
conversation took place between a Rudra Veena maestro Ustad Bahaud-din Dagar (one among only three
remaining player of this ancient instrument and a 20th generation Dhrupad practitioner) and an aspiring singer who
wanted to learn classical music again. This would-be disciple related to Dagarji how she had done a number of
years of formal schooling in classical music and how difficult she found the later years of it while trying to prepare
for exams etc. This had turned her off from the music and she wasnt sure if she was up to the task again. Besides,
she didnt think her voice was quite good enough to sing and that too in the most ancient and difficult of Indian
classical music styles Dhrupad. The Ustad smiled and said dont worry about it just sing for the love of the
music. He also said, had it been required that he take formal lessons and exams to earn a degree in Rudra Veena
playing, he would have long back given up as he hated exams as a child like most of us do. Its not a coincidence
that most great personalities in different fields of human endeavor rarely excelled through formal education and
competitive assessment.

The Joy of Learning

It appears to me that among the myriad of problems faced by our education system ranging from early childhood
education all the way to higher and professional education etc., the most critical one that fundamentally affects the
very nature of the process is the objective of the process itself. In my humble opinion there appears to be a great
deal of confusion over this vital issue leading to all sorts of contradictions and travesty in the name of education.
Being a civil engineer and having had the opportunity to be exposed to the education system in India and abroad at
various levels, my understanding of the learning process is simply to master the technique of learning and if
possible mainly for the joy of it rather than any other purpose. It should be a self-evident truth that no one can
teach another anything other than only the technique of learning, since all learning can ever be self-induced. The
role of the teacher is simply to show the way as to where to look and how to go about acquiring the information
and turn it in to knowledge, which with age and experience can transform in to wisdom. Such wisdom is

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unfortunately only evident in very few such as the exponents of classical arts and perhaps the odd enlightened
teacher. The lack of this wisdom is the root cause of the mediocrity that we see all around us.
Today, we see around us a process in the name of education, which has all, but learning to learn as the objective.
At the end of the process the outcome could be anything but the joy of learning such as passing an exam,
memorizing some data, getting a degree or the ultimate objective of landing a plush job. Not that they are
unworthy goals, but definitely not worthy enough to be pursued in exclusion to what should be the main aim of the
teaching-learning process.
Learning to Learn again
Among the many creditable books authored by the American Civil Engineer and essayist Author Samuel C.
Florman is one titled Existential Pleasures of Engineering. He describes it thus Existential feelings are those
mental and emotional experiences that arise out of the depths of our innermost being our intuitions, our basic
instincts and impulses, what we feel in our heart (which, as Pascal said has reasons that reason can not know), what
we feel in our bones, or in our guts. I think engineering is what human beings, deep down want to do. Not the only
thing, but one of the most basic and satisfying things. Engineering is an activity that is fulfilling existentially.
The education in such a basic activity should no doubt be as fulfilling as the profession itself. It is evident that to
have effective engineering education, one needs sophisticated facilities for hands-on training, atmosphere for
comfortable classroom interaction, a positive attitude among the teachers and students and an eagerness to teach
and learn. Unfortunately, in each of this aspect we seem to have major problems. How ever, it is indeed a classic
catch 22 in the sense that the situation in the classroom today is perhaps a reflection of the society as a whole and
the society perhaps degenerates with out the leadership that is ought to be provided by those of us who are
fortunate enough to have the opportunity to be part of this exulted process. Thus it is up to us in the educational
institutions to rise up to the challenge and create the process, which will result in an enjoyable interaction in and
out of the classroom leading to future leaders for a better society.
One vital aspect of such an effort is to imbibe and inculcate the healthy approach to learning that is to have as
primary objective the child like excitement of knowing rather than memorizing, always having and inquisitive
mind and explore the pleasures of the process. If we make an honest attempt at it, its my firm conviction that all of
the other more mundane goals of education such as passing an exam, getting a degree or even the most desirable
job would become much easier to achieve and would be free of the tension and frustration generally associated
with it.
Pride in Civil Engineering
If one approaches education in the above perspective, then one of the burning issues in our minds such as the
desirability or other wise of pursuing particular branches of knowledge such as Civil Engineering takes on a new
dimension altogether. Ideally one should be able to take up a particular field of study on ones own volition for the

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interest and desire to master it rather than considerations such as prospects of employment and/or the level of
financial benefits one is likely to derive. The last consideration of course should be the so-called glamour factor.
Civil Engineering is the oldest branch of engineering and it was so named as to distinguish it from military
engineering around 2-3 centuries ago. Its a vast field with major areas of specialization in structures, hydraulics,
soil mechanics, transportation, environment etc. Most of the worlds wonders have been the creation of civil
engineering minds. With out it no other field of applied knowledge could exist or prosper. There is much yet to be
done in Civil Engineering with latest areas of research in fields such as smart structures, smart highways, disaster
mitigation, earthquake resistant structures, composites, waste utilization etc.
Often we forget that the greatest treasures of our society such as a Konark Temple or an ancient palace or the
heritage structures dotting our landscape were all creations of brilliant civil engineers of centuries past that
operated with nothing but rudimentary technology and techniques compared to what is at our disposal. Whereas
todays most modern reinforced concrete buildings made from Portland cement suffers from a range of ailments
stemming from sub-standard materials, poor workmanship, lack of quality control causing corrosion of
reinforcement, alkali-silica reaction, carbonation damage, sulphate attack etc. leading to premature failures and
large recurring maintenance bills, we have many historic structures built with stone and lime mortar which has
stood the test of time. This raises some serious questions about our competence in this day and age.

7th century Parusurameswar

Modern building (about 3 year old) with

temple of Old Bhubaneswar.

defect.

In Conclusion
We face many seemingly insurmountable problems today, which can also be treated as opportunities to create
solutions that would hopefully bring much needed prosperity. We all have a tremendous responsibility in this
regard given the impoverished community of ours. We cannot afford to waste the opportunity we have if not for
our sake for the sake of the greater good. With right goals, right approach and joyful endeavor to excel, we can not
only achieve our personal objectives but also make a difference for a brighter tomorrow.

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