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KNOWING TO LEARN

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Knowing How to Learn Larissa M. Ferris FDEng 101:45 J. Christensen March 21, 2017 Synthesis Essay

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Abstract

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Knowing How to Learn Recently a friend’s mother said to me, “The importance of our education lies in the eternities.” (personal contact, Lemmon, 2017). She meant, of course, we must learn all that we can here on earth, in our mortal bodies so that we can carry all of our knowledge beyond the veil and into the Celestial Kingdom. By making the effort to learn not only all that is presented to us, but also learning how to learn, we can come closer to the perfected, celestial beings Heavenly Father desires us to become. We were sent to Earth to be tested as righteous children of God, but He did not send us unprepared. He sent us with the tools and abilities necessary for learning and preparing ourselves for eternal salvation. It is our duty to put the tools He has given to us to good use. We do this by letting our minds work and seizing every opportunity for our intellectual growth, and we start by learning how to increase our intellectual capabilities. In his paper, “In the Laboratory with Agassiz,” Samuel H Scudder (1884) narrates how his professor, Agassiz, taught him his most valuable lesson that he carried with him throughout his education: “’Take this fish,’ he said, ‘and look at it; we call it a haemulon; by and by I will ask what you have seen” (Scudder, 1884. P.1). By observing everything there was to know about the fish, Scudder learned both about the fish and, more importantly, a way to learn that would stick with him throughout his education. Though we did not experience it ourselves, we can learn from Scudder’s example by utilizing his study methods. When all else fails, we can find inventive methods for learning. As Scudder describes, “I would draw the fish; and now with surprise I began to discover new features in the creature” (Scudder, 1884, p. 2). Through finding his own new and creative methods to observe the haemulon, Scudder reveals to his readers that the best way to learn thoroughly is to find paths that allow us to look beyond the surface.

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Thomas G. Plummer (1990), a linguistics professor at BYU, cautions us regarding the effects of learning solely in a routine that come to be expected of us. In “Diagnosing and Treating the Ophelia Syndrome,” Plummer explains the Ophelia Syndrome as being “chronically ignorant, chronically dependent, and chronically submissive” (Plummer, 1990, p. 1). Plummer explains Ophelia Syndrome by diagnosing Ophelia’s character in Shakespeare’s tragedy, Hamlet: In Hamlet, Act I, Scene iii, Laertes warns his sister, Ophelia, to avoid falling in love Hamlet, whose advances, he claims, are prompted by fleeting, youthful lust. He cautions her against Hamlet’s “unmastered importunity” and counsels her that “best safety lies in fear.” Then her father, Polonius, begins to meddle. He knows, he tells Ophelia, that she has responded to Hamlet’s attention and then informs her that she “does not understand [herself] so clearly.” He asks if she believes Hamlet’s affections are genuine, to which Ophelia responds, “I do not know, my lord, what I should think.” Polonius answers, “I’ll teach you. Think yourself a baby . . .” (Plummer, 1990, p.1). Ophelia could not think for herself. She was blindly obedient, she allowed others to form her opinions for her, and she depended on others to do her thinking for her. For the majority of our youth, we are just like her. We are taught in a way that ensnares us in the Ophelia Syndrome, but we have to liberate ourselves from that set way of thinking and become free thinkers. However, Plummer reassures us, “It’s fine to say, ‘Learn to think for yourself,’ and it’s quite another to do it” (Plummer, 1990, p. 3). Deciding to learn is a personal choice, and it is a point of maturing. It is a pivotal moment in our lives when we decide to educate ourselves for the sole purpose of obtaining knowledge so that we may think for ourselves. Gordon B. Hinckley (1990) states in his address, “Out of Your Experience Here,” to BYU students, “Be a man or a woman with a mind and a will and a bit of discipline, with a zest for

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learning . . .” (Hinckley, 1990, p. 4). We need a desire to learn as well as an eagerness to do the work of the Lord. Through cultivating an education, we can move forward in servicing our neighbors, and in doing His work. As we choose a path that will promote furthering our education, it is crucial that we begin by seeking out more than just secular knowledge. We can strengthen our minds and our spirits by studying out the words of Christ with the same intellectual skills that we apply to our schooling. In Doctrine and Covenants, Section 88, verse 118, we read, “Seek ye diligently and teach one another words of wisdom; yea, seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom; seek learning, even by study and also by faith.” Elder David A. Bednar clarifies this scripture: Some facts are helpful or interesting to know. Some knowledge is useful to apply. But gospel truths are essential for us to understand and live if we are to become what our Heavenly Father yearns for us to become. The type of learning I am attempting to describe is not merely the accumulation of data and facts and frameworks; rather, it is acquiring and applying knowledge for righteousness (Bednar, 2010, p.2). Our purpose for gaining knowledge is for us to understand Heavenly Father’s gospel and to apply it to our lives so that we may come closer to living with Him as celestial beings.

References

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Bednar, D.A. (2010). Learning to love learning. Ensign, February. Retrieved from https://www.lds.org/ensign/2010/02/learning-to-love-learning?lang=eng Hinckley, G.B. (1990, October 16). Out of your experience here. BYU Speeches. Retrieved from https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/hinckley-gordon-b_experience/ Plummer, T. G. (1990, April 5). Diagnosing and treating the Ophelia Syndrome. Scudder, S. (1884). In the laboratory with Agassiz: Learning to see. Reading for Philosophical Inquiry: A Brief Introduction to Philosophical Thinking. Retrieved March 7, 2017 from http://philosophylander.edu/intro.int4robook2.1/x426html...