Sunday, December 06, 2009

Why should we study?

Two Form 2 students asks me the question.

They find it difficult to study. One admits he is not trying very hard. The other says he does work hard; but just cannot manage to remember the material. One has a father who seems never satisfied how hard the son tries; hence there is no reward nor joy in studying. The other sees no strong motivation to study. They think that some of the most successful people are not very well educated. Studying is hard, there is no joy in it, and it does not seem critical to success. So, why bother?

Being poor was strong motivation for me and most of my friends. But more than that, I actually enjoyed learning. And the more I learn, the more I enjoy it.

I told them there is indeed satisfaction in studying, in learning something new, in solving a problem, and in getting a job done well. They could also learn to find and savor that satisfaction. They can give themselves that reward, without depending on other people’s praise. Once they learn to enjoy studying, there will be no lack of motivation.

Actually they don't have much choice. They have to be in school until they finish Form 6. They can either suffer through it. Or they can find a way to enjoy it.

Being so young, they have a lot of unrealized potential. They simply do not know how good they can become. They are at that critical age when they can still learn to learn. If they don’t do it now, that potential may never be realized. And they are going to regret it later in life.

Some of these buddings will grow into trees. Many will be stunned, or even die. Which will my two young friends be?







7 comments:

CARFIELD said...

Thanks Dr. Chan, nice photo, help me much to visualize their situation

StephenC said...

You are welcome. There are indeed a lot of students these days who seem lost. If they don't find their way soon, another generation will be lost.

某烨 said...

i think first they should focus on sth that they are good at. once they have tasted small portion of success, they will be satisfied and confident, and want to taste more. this will encourage them.

StephenC said...

Yeah. I quite agree.

某烨 said...

er, you acted so quickly~~~

StephenC said...

That is because I was working on the computer at the time. Actually it was something that you care about very much. :)

某烨 said...

Ah~ i saw it~~ thank you very very much~~ i am still worried about that because my boss hasn't even started yet :-(


btw, i have invited you to plurk :-) which is awesome when compared with twetter~~