How to succeed in an unloved business?
When I was in the eighth grade, I lost interest in studying, and began to skip school. But I did not hang around the street and did not sit at home, as you might have thought. Every day, for six months, I went out of the house in the morning, pretending that I was going to school, and in fact, I was going to the city library.
A rather unusual choice for someone who has lost interest in learning.
')
I do not know what came over me, but one day, I was so fed up with the learning process in the form of memorizing standard textbooks, that I decided that was enough for me.
Now I am 30 years old, and I can say that I didn’t regret about that decision even for a second, despite the fact that it had a painful effect on my “education.” Sitting in the library, I got the opportunity to study books on history, physics, geometry, chemistry - in any order and in any quantities.
Why was it “changing the awl for soap” if I still did the same thing that I was forced to do at school?
About two hundred years ago, the German philosopher, Ph.D. and the founder of scientific pedagogy Johann Friedrich Herbart, formulated the goal of general education: to awaken interest in knowledge.
I must say that today, when I look at this postulate from the 21st century, I admire the independence of the mind that formulated it. So that you understand why: modern pedagogy believes that the goal of education is to give a person the knowledge, skills and abilities necessary for work and prepare him for work.
The difference between these two approaches is not just colossal, it is fundamental. While Herbart cared about the implementation and success of each student, modern pedagogy cares about the state, or, if you like, “society”.
However, such a model is doomed to failure, because the “modern approach” does not take into account the interest and interests of the student. Why take them into account? After all, not everyone in the world is interesting, there are a lot of uninteresting things, but you also need to know and be able to do this.
To answer this question, we will have to delve a little into the subject, and answer the question, what is interest?
For some, this question may sound ridiculous, because there are things that we never think about, we think they are self-evident. It is like trying to answer the question “What is desire?”
However, if a person wants to be successful and realized, it is necessary to answer this question, because even intuitively it is clear that interest is something fundamental, therefore, it would be a mistake not to understand how it works.
Cognitive sciences define interest as the main driving factor of human motivation. This we know, so far nothing new.
But here is what you may not have known: interest is divided into situational and individual, or, as it is sometimes called, sustained.
The first type, situational, arises spontaneously, under the influence of temporary external factors, from which it is obvious that it disappears as soon as conditions change.
Of course, this is directly related to memory, and memory - directly to the intellect, but within the framework of this article, we will not delve into these issues. Suffice it to say that data whose value is due to external factors is not stored in memory for a long time.
The second type, the individual, is more stable and is born from internal motives, it is the presence of internal interest that gives rise to that very “motivation” that has been so fashionable to talk about the last few years. From here, by the way, we can conclude about the benefits of "motivators".
It is believed that a person experiencing an “individual interest” tends to engage in the object of this interest for the sake of the process itself and familiarization with the subject, and not for the performance of conditional tasks, as in the first case.
Of course, I am not saying that the first type of interest is “bad” and the second is “good”. Solid, collected people often criticize those who "take up everything." I myself have such acquaintances whose interests are being replaced with a surprising speed for me.
If such a situational interest is combined with a strong internal interest, the person has a chance to grow into a “ T-Shaped man ”. Gabe Newell believes that such people have a future. Of course, provided that the situational interest “lasted” long enough for a person to at least learn something in this area.
But why, after all, the modern model of education is not effective?
For three hundred years of scientific research, we have received a sufficient number of testimonies, that without a strong, sustained internal interest, the learning process is not effective.
In 1990, Professor Ulrich Schiffel conducted one of these studies in order to identify the difference in the depth of text perception among students with different levels of individual interest in the subject.
Students were invited to read the text and answer questions on the content. A preliminary acquaintance with the subject and the level of intelligence of the respondents was used as a control variable.
Four types of studies were conducted, differing in the type of test questions: open-ended questions, free retelling or tests for reproduction.
The results of the first type of research (open questions) revealed a positive correlation between the level of interest of subjects and the quality of answers to questions. However, it is noted that it was observed only in the case of complex issues that require deep understanding, comparison and analysis of information.
Whereas in the answers to simple questions, where it was necessary to recall the disparate details, the correlation was insignificant.
Thus, we can conclude that interest affects the process of processing, assimilation, analysis and comparison of information, and to a lesser extent, the memorization of disparate details.
In the second type of research, a text was used which contained a large number of unfinished or incorrect statements.
The results revealed a significant correlation between interest and the total number of proposals and main ideas. However, in the course of a detailed analysis, it turned out that this is true only for completed sentences, new information and truthful statements. Whereas, the interest practically did not affect the memorization of incorrect statements and unfinished sentences.
In addition, the interest significantly influenced the consistency and structure of memorization - the information obtained was not just memorized, it was integrated into the system of knowledge of the subjects. Probably, this can also explain the fact that the memorability of incorrect and incomplete statements has not increased - they simply had no place in the knowledge system.
Thus, based on only these two types of studies, it can be concluded that the level of interest not only extensively affects the quality of memorization, but also activates fundamentally different processes - the analysis and processing of information.
It will be reasonable to assume that it is the involvement of these processes that turns information into knowledge.
It is curious that similar results were obtained by the researchers Karl. A. Benver and Edward L. Desey in 1984, as well as Wendy Grolnick and Richard M. Ryan in 1987.
I would like you to draw your own conclusions, however, I have to obey the laws of the genre.
The education system, in the form in which it exists in this country, is not effective. And I'm not talking about the political situation, I'm talking about the fundamental orientation of education as a system.
What was evident three hundred years ago, namely, that without interest we should not expect the quality of knowledge, today sounds like a revelation. However, let's look around and see how many obstacles stand in the way of a person getting knowledge.
When I was in the eighth grade, fortunately, there was still no internet, so nothing interfered with my interest in science (except for school).
We are accustomed to consider interest as something optional, literally like a whim. Because "except for the word" I want, "there is the word" I must. " One can argue for a long time how much and how this is caused - by the fact that the profession of a person should be relevant, by the fact that “one always wants to eat”, by the fact that “one can get married by work, and love will follow”.
Personally, I do not believe in all of this, I believe that people make a big mistake when choosing a profession, based on market requirements, parents' expectations, or "relevance." These are all external factors, conditionality.
Think about what would happen to the world if there were no people in it who were abnormal to the extent that they would devote their lives to exploring the method of breeding a dispute? Or if Tim Bernes Lee decided that science is not very profitable, and would go to trade on the stock exchange?
I do not want to make revolutions, especially since all this has been said thousands of times before me. But, it seems to me, we often underestimate the fundamental concepts, precisely because they are in plain sight.
Interest is one such concept. Of course, you can do something without interest, I myself have just cited the results of studies that confirm this. To memorize a dozen terms and a hundred combinations, say, for working on the line of an assembly shop, no interest is needed.
The problem is that from the description itself it becomes obvious that this activity lends itself to full algorithmization, which means that sooner or later it will be delegated to the machines.
However, it will be rather late than early, as long as we live in the existing education system, which was designed to fill jobs.
The paradox is that now the cart is in front of the horse, and already jobs need to be created for the existing educational system, because if we replace the tram drivers with autopilot and collectors with robots, who will feed all these people?
It seems to me that it is necessary to begin by stopping treating interest as a whim. Herbart believed that interest can be aroused in every person. Of course, here I want to argue with him, after all, it sounds idealistic. But just imagine what the world would look like if everyone did their work.
Of course, the question remains “how to find your own business?” For many, this question is not worth it - these lucky children know from childhood what they want to do, and even pragmatic parents cannot always dissuade them, from which many conflicts, misunderstandings, offenses arise, broken hopes and expectations. Also thanks to old thinking, by the way.
For others, the answer is simple - you need to try everything. Of course, it would be ideal if your parents raised you in accordance with an intensive development model, rather than an extensive one, and if children were divided in school not by quantitative and age characteristics, but by more meaningful ones.
But these are all subjunctive moods, but what can be done right now is to go and do what you always wanted, but for which there was no time, or courage, because “you won’t earn it.”
No need to wait for the “right moment”, no need to wait for Monday to “start a new life”. You need to find the strength (while they still exist) and remember what you have always dreamed of.
You wanted to understand chemistry, but no one could explain to you what all these equations mean? You want to sing, but you have been told that you do not have a hearing? You want to draw, but you are afraid that nobody needs it?
Interest is a unique natural filter that makes us do what we can achieve high-quality results. But for some reason we decided that this is nothing more than a whim, and we need to deal not with what is interesting, but with what is beneficial.
Imagine, for a second, if there were no people in the world who resist a similar installation, and are engaged in what they are interested in, despite how prestigious and profitable it is, spending all its strength and resources on it.
If it were not for the abnormal, who forget about sleep, food and their own family are busy with mold fungi? Who would discover penicillin? How would we know about neuroplasticity, if not for strange people digging into the histories of illnesses of people with mental disorders? If there were no people in the world who like to treat their teeth? It's hard for me to imagine that someone might like it, but I know a dentist, to whom the queue is scheduled six months in advance, because he knows everything about dentistry. And his parents dreamed that he was an official. If people were guided solely by earnings considerations, who would write forensic books? Who would teach future investigators?
SmartProgress is a launching pad for people who want to do what they are interested in, no matter what. We help people find their true vocation, or simply it becomes better with each new project, with each new goal achieved. Let it be not so ambitious, even if at first it seems a small victory, or even a defeat. But these victories and defeats help us better understand who we are, understand what we want, what we need, teach us to distinguish one from the second.
It happens that people set a goal, but quickly give up, realizing that they are not interested in the process, they just want the result. They like to represent him, but they do not find enough interest in themselves to deal with the process methodically. Do you feel how the condemnation towards them originates in you?
But how else can we understand what we need? It is believed that you need to overcome yourself, find strength, force ... But listen to any fan of your work - they do not force themselves to do their work! They force themselves not to give up - that's right. Do not pay attention to failures, defeats and - "tips" of friends to find a normal job, settle down, calm down - yes, as much as you like. But force yourself to do something without which they can not live? That is unlikely.
We have a lot to learn from these people, and we, along with the participants of SmartProgress, learn, make mistakes, learn our strengths and weaknesses, gradually learn to get rid of imposed, imaginary ambitions, and focus on our true goals, abilities, and - mission.
Join now. We will grow together.
PS If you do not have an account in Habré, you can express your opinion on this article in our blog - SmartTalks
A rather unusual choice for someone who has lost interest in learning.
')
I do not know what came over me, but one day, I was so fed up with the learning process in the form of memorizing standard textbooks, that I decided that was enough for me.
Now I am 30 years old, and I can say that I didn’t regret about that decision even for a second, despite the fact that it had a painful effect on my “education.” Sitting in the library, I got the opportunity to study books on history, physics, geometry, chemistry - in any order and in any quantities.
Why was it “changing the awl for soap” if I still did the same thing that I was forced to do at school?
Scientific Pedagogy
About two hundred years ago, the German philosopher, Ph.D. and the founder of scientific pedagogy Johann Friedrich Herbart, formulated the goal of general education: to awaken interest in knowledge.
I must say that today, when I look at this postulate from the 21st century, I admire the independence of the mind that formulated it. So that you understand why: modern pedagogy believes that the goal of education is to give a person the knowledge, skills and abilities necessary for work and prepare him for work.
The difference between these two approaches is not just colossal, it is fundamental. While Herbart cared about the implementation and success of each student, modern pedagogy cares about the state, or, if you like, “society”.
However, such a model is doomed to failure, because the “modern approach” does not take into account the interest and interests of the student. Why take them into account? After all, not everyone in the world is interesting, there are a lot of uninteresting things, but you also need to know and be able to do this.
Interest
To answer this question, we will have to delve a little into the subject, and answer the question, what is interest?
For some, this question may sound ridiculous, because there are things that we never think about, we think they are self-evident. It is like trying to answer the question “What is desire?”
However, if a person wants to be successful and realized, it is necessary to answer this question, because even intuitively it is clear that interest is something fundamental, therefore, it would be a mistake not to understand how it works.
Cognitive sciences define interest as the main driving factor of human motivation. This we know, so far nothing new.
But here is what you may not have known: interest is divided into situational and individual, or, as it is sometimes called, sustained.
The first type, situational, arises spontaneously, under the influence of temporary external factors, from which it is obvious that it disappears as soon as conditions change.
Of course, this is directly related to memory, and memory - directly to the intellect, but within the framework of this article, we will not delve into these issues. Suffice it to say that data whose value is due to external factors is not stored in memory for a long time.
The second type, the individual, is more stable and is born from internal motives, it is the presence of internal interest that gives rise to that very “motivation” that has been so fashionable to talk about the last few years. From here, by the way, we can conclude about the benefits of "motivators".
It is believed that a person experiencing an “individual interest” tends to engage in the object of this interest for the sake of the process itself and familiarization with the subject, and not for the performance of conditional tasks, as in the first case.
Of course, I am not saying that the first type of interest is “bad” and the second is “good”. Solid, collected people often criticize those who "take up everything." I myself have such acquaintances whose interests are being replaced with a surprising speed for me.
If such a situational interest is combined with a strong internal interest, the person has a chance to grow into a “ T-Shaped man ”. Gabe Newell believes that such people have a future. Of course, provided that the situational interest “lasted” long enough for a person to at least learn something in this area.
But why, after all, the modern model of education is not effective?
Interest Studies
For three hundred years of scientific research, we have received a sufficient number of testimonies, that without a strong, sustained internal interest, the learning process is not effective.
In 1990, Professor Ulrich Schiffel conducted one of these studies in order to identify the difference in the depth of text perception among students with different levels of individual interest in the subject.
Students were invited to read the text and answer questions on the content. A preliminary acquaintance with the subject and the level of intelligence of the respondents was used as a control variable.
Four types of studies were conducted, differing in the type of test questions: open-ended questions, free retelling or tests for reproduction.
The results of the first type of research (open questions) revealed a positive correlation between the level of interest of subjects and the quality of answers to questions. However, it is noted that it was observed only in the case of complex issues that require deep understanding, comparison and analysis of information.
Whereas in the answers to simple questions, where it was necessary to recall the disparate details, the correlation was insignificant.
Thus, we can conclude that interest affects the process of processing, assimilation, analysis and comparison of information, and to a lesser extent, the memorization of disparate details.
In the second type of research, a text was used which contained a large number of unfinished or incorrect statements.
The results revealed a significant correlation between interest and the total number of proposals and main ideas. However, in the course of a detailed analysis, it turned out that this is true only for completed sentences, new information and truthful statements. Whereas, the interest practically did not affect the memorization of incorrect statements and unfinished sentences.
In addition, the interest significantly influenced the consistency and structure of memorization - the information obtained was not just memorized, it was integrated into the system of knowledge of the subjects. Probably, this can also explain the fact that the memorability of incorrect and incomplete statements has not increased - they simply had no place in the knowledge system.
Thus, based on only these two types of studies, it can be concluded that the level of interest not only extensively affects the quality of memorization, but also activates fundamentally different processes - the analysis and processing of information.
It will be reasonable to assume that it is the involvement of these processes that turns information into knowledge.
It is curious that similar results were obtained by the researchers Karl. A. Benver and Edward L. Desey in 1984, as well as Wendy Grolnick and Richard M. Ryan in 1987.
What does all of this mean?
I would like you to draw your own conclusions, however, I have to obey the laws of the genre.
The education system, in the form in which it exists in this country, is not effective. And I'm not talking about the political situation, I'm talking about the fundamental orientation of education as a system.
What was evident three hundred years ago, namely, that without interest we should not expect the quality of knowledge, today sounds like a revelation. However, let's look around and see how many obstacles stand in the way of a person getting knowledge.
When I was in the eighth grade, fortunately, there was still no internet, so nothing interfered with my interest in science (except for school).
We are accustomed to consider interest as something optional, literally like a whim. Because "except for the word" I want, "there is the word" I must. " One can argue for a long time how much and how this is caused - by the fact that the profession of a person should be relevant, by the fact that “one always wants to eat”, by the fact that “one can get married by work, and love will follow”.
Personally, I do not believe in all of this, I believe that people make a big mistake when choosing a profession, based on market requirements, parents' expectations, or "relevance." These are all external factors, conditionality.
Think about what would happen to the world if there were no people in it who were abnormal to the extent that they would devote their lives to exploring the method of breeding a dispute? Or if Tim Bernes Lee decided that science is not very profitable, and would go to trade on the stock exchange?
[R] evolution
I do not want to make revolutions, especially since all this has been said thousands of times before me. But, it seems to me, we often underestimate the fundamental concepts, precisely because they are in plain sight.
Interest is one such concept. Of course, you can do something without interest, I myself have just cited the results of studies that confirm this. To memorize a dozen terms and a hundred combinations, say, for working on the line of an assembly shop, no interest is needed.
The problem is that from the description itself it becomes obvious that this activity lends itself to full algorithmization, which means that sooner or later it will be delegated to the machines.
However, it will be rather late than early, as long as we live in the existing education system, which was designed to fill jobs.
The paradox is that now the cart is in front of the horse, and already jobs need to be created for the existing educational system, because if we replace the tram drivers with autopilot and collectors with robots, who will feed all these people?
What to do?
It seems to me that it is necessary to begin by stopping treating interest as a whim. Herbart believed that interest can be aroused in every person. Of course, here I want to argue with him, after all, it sounds idealistic. But just imagine what the world would look like if everyone did their work.
Of course, the question remains “how to find your own business?” For many, this question is not worth it - these lucky children know from childhood what they want to do, and even pragmatic parents cannot always dissuade them, from which many conflicts, misunderstandings, offenses arise, broken hopes and expectations. Also thanks to old thinking, by the way.
For others, the answer is simple - you need to try everything. Of course, it would be ideal if your parents raised you in accordance with an intensive development model, rather than an extensive one, and if children were divided in school not by quantitative and age characteristics, but by more meaningful ones.
But these are all subjunctive moods, but what can be done right now is to go and do what you always wanted, but for which there was no time, or courage, because “you won’t earn it.”
No need to wait for the “right moment”, no need to wait for Monday to “start a new life”. You need to find the strength (while they still exist) and remember what you have always dreamed of.
You wanted to understand chemistry, but no one could explain to you what all these equations mean? You want to sing, but you have been told that you do not have a hearing? You want to draw, but you are afraid that nobody needs it?
Interest is a unique natural filter that makes us do what we can achieve high-quality results. But for some reason we decided that this is nothing more than a whim, and we need to deal not with what is interesting, but with what is beneficial.
Imagine, for a second, if there were no people in the world who resist a similar installation, and are engaged in what they are interested in, despite how prestigious and profitable it is, spending all its strength and resources on it.
If it were not for the abnormal, who forget about sleep, food and their own family are busy with mold fungi? Who would discover penicillin? How would we know about neuroplasticity, if not for strange people digging into the histories of illnesses of people with mental disorders? If there were no people in the world who like to treat their teeth? It's hard for me to imagine that someone might like it, but I know a dentist, to whom the queue is scheduled six months in advance, because he knows everything about dentistry. And his parents dreamed that he was an official. If people were guided solely by earnings considerations, who would write forensic books? Who would teach future investigators?
SmartProgress is a launching pad for people who want to do what they are interested in, no matter what. We help people find their true vocation, or simply it becomes better with each new project, with each new goal achieved. Let it be not so ambitious, even if at first it seems a small victory, or even a defeat. But these victories and defeats help us better understand who we are, understand what we want, what we need, teach us to distinguish one from the second.
It happens that people set a goal, but quickly give up, realizing that they are not interested in the process, they just want the result. They like to represent him, but they do not find enough interest in themselves to deal with the process methodically. Do you feel how the condemnation towards them originates in you?
But how else can we understand what we need? It is believed that you need to overcome yourself, find strength, force ... But listen to any fan of your work - they do not force themselves to do their work! They force themselves not to give up - that's right. Do not pay attention to failures, defeats and - "tips" of friends to find a normal job, settle down, calm down - yes, as much as you like. But force yourself to do something without which they can not live? That is unlikely.
We have a lot to learn from these people, and we, along with the participants of SmartProgress, learn, make mistakes, learn our strengths and weaknesses, gradually learn to get rid of imposed, imaginary ambitions, and focus on our true goals, abilities, and - mission.
Join now. We will grow together.
PS If you do not have an account in Habré, you can express your opinion on this article in our blog - SmartTalks
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/294086/
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