Makeshift Education

Education is the most powerful weapon one can wield to bring about change. Nelson Mandela’s words stand as true today as they did when he first said them. An erudite person can very well interact in any of their surroundings in a most constructive and innovative way. Let us hence delve into what makes education the best investment one can make.

The value of education has for long been the same at the value ascribed to money. Indeed, high level of education – here, meaning academic education – meant more money in most cases. Yet, this has changed. While no one can deny that academic achievement leads to prosperous futures, we need to understand that education has much more depth to its meaning. We understand today that beyond intellectual quotient (IQ), human dimensions comprise the physical, emotional and spiritual quotients as well. Hence, education resumes itself to mental and physical strengths together with self-dependence and self-confidence. 

Learning is an ongoing process. Since we now understand education in its broader sense, we can no longer flaunt being educated if we curate only one of the above-mentioned dimensions. Knowledge is might. We need hence imbibe as much of it as possible. The lockdown in place owing to Covid-19 has been a time for reflection. Our bustling lives often do not give enough leeway for us to take a step back and see how we can do better for ourselves – how we can bolster our understanding of concepts such as our political system, how we can raise our spiritual awareness or how we can complement our diets with adequate nutrients. Why not then use this time to get constructive and use this time to learn?

We have time to learn what we previously did not have much time to allocate to. Learning a new language requires in most cases, only about half an hour a day. So many top educational institutions have offered free self-paced courses that enable us to learn about a topic that fascinates us from experts in their fields. We can just as easily include one session in our daily lockdown session – at least, this might help reducing the tedium that settles as the TV runs all day and naps get annoying. 

Intelligence takes many forms – including spatial (artistic) or interpersonal (dealing with people) intelligences. These means, that you can truly learn about anything that you truly wish. Learn to cook for instance. Learn to edit videos. Push your body harder towards those stretches that you find difficult. Perfect your presentation-delivering skills. There is no limit to get creative. This is a time to get inspired and take matters in our own hands. We can perhaps steal a few ideas from the many videos whereby people worldwide are making use of makeshift equipment and concepts for a variety of activities.

We need to understand that wasted time never comes back. We have been bestowed with an opportunity to learn at a relaxed pace; we need to make the most out of it. Juggling with different activities and leaning experiences throughout the day will allow for a more judicious and healthier lifestyle. What are our post-confinement goals? Surely, we do not want to fall back into a sedentary mode of living. This pandemic has proved that we are not invulnerable. We need to be fit, sharp and willing to do better. 

Hence, know thyself, as Socrates said. Understand in what areas you can improve and do so. Use all the resources that are available or that you can create yourself to whet and share your creativity, knowledge and morale. This is a most auspicious time to do so.