Learning for Leisure

The theme of this blog, if there was such a thing, seems to be a meandering tangent only vaguely related to the previous post. In keeping with this, today’s blog is a short ramble on lifelong learning and learning for leisure. I feel that the current schooling system (though I am of course, particularly speaking to the particular system I grew up in) focuses more on achieving KPIs and rewarding numbers than fostering a genuine curiosity and zest for learning. I do not think this is the fault of our overworked teachers, who are handed oversubscribed classes, uninspired curriculums, and a plethora of complex needs across their classroom. Rather, I believe the curriculum and culture need to shift at a much higher level.

One element of this is that we need parents to step up. It is an appalling failure of parenthood to send a neurotypical, able-bodied child to school not yet toilet trained. Additionally, it is not the sole responsibility of the school to foster all aspects of childhood development. To discover a love of reading, children must be exposed to those who love to read. To learn social skills and empathy, they must be spoken to and empathised with. To develop fine motor skills and creativity, they must hold a pencil and colour and play. All of this begins at home.

Of course, this begets a wider conversation about why even dual-parent households struggle to provide this. Some is clearly the need for both parents to be in full-time work, soaring childcare costs and the lack of village that would traditionally have eased this burden. Some of it is cultural; Britain has a real crabs in a bucket mentality that punishes people who are perceived to want something more. Look at the meteoric rise of Luke Littler, and the subsequent boo-ing only a year later. We do not have a culture that rewards earnest engagement with institutions of learning, especially beyond the mandatory schooling or university years.

This is a crying shame. We have such a rich history, such magnificent nature, such fascinating arts and indeed, some of the finest educational institutions on earth. Yet our own press attacks former students for complaining about their inaccessability? Governments offer punishing loans, the repayments of which are not used to pay for what was borrowed but instead prop up stagnating public services.

A healthy society requires the services of university-educated workers, skilled tradesmen, and service staff. This is fundamental to the functioning of our society. Vut it is a mistake to gatekeep education for only specific career paths. Anyone and everyone, regardless of background or trade, should have the opportunity to pursue study for leisure. To discover oneself and the world around them. To keep their brains elastic and develop critical thinking and the ability to articulate an argument. We argue over the necessity of this, but neglect to consider the wider benefits to the country and society of having an educated populace. Who knows how many great artists, writers, and thinkers exist solely within the confines of their own mind, told that university and learning is only valuable in pursuit of a career?

— Frost