Understand that learning is a continuous lifelong process

12. Understand that learning is a continuous lifelong process.
When you graduated from high school, everyone hopes you were prepared for the world of adulthood. Unfortunately, one of the biggest items that all that content in school neglected was the fact that you were only practicing learning skills that were supposed to be learned to be used in adulthood. Specific examples: outlining skills, summarizing, 5 paragraph essay, vocabulary, spelling, math, problem-solving, identifying problems, etc., etc. The content was only the vehicle to have you use these skills. College was another avenue to use them, to fine-tune them, to make you a better leader, to get along with people, to master one specific area enough so you could get a good job. After enough "practice" you should be confident enough to be given a task in your work and acheive success, by whatever definition. As you get older, you master these techniques. Now, how does that effect our subject, being an educated citizen?
You should have evolved a process of evolution that shows the more you learn the more you benefit. As an educated citizen, you should be able to volunteer for "committees" at your local church, school, etc. You help that committee by using your mastered techiques to help the group to acheive there goal. As you work in these settings, you gain more techniques; for example, you learn how to set up a meeting to acheive the goal you feel is best for the group/organization. You learn Robert's Rules of Order. Knowing these rules puts you in control, because once you have established the committee using the "Rules of Order", you can use that to your benefit. Learning becomes an enjoyable thing. You like to succeed, and knowing things helps you win "battles" The time it takes to know more than your opponent usually takes longer, but it makes you a better person and more knowledgable to help along the rough spots. Because you have spent more time, you have looked at the situation in all kinds of ways and understand better why things work and why they do not work, and you can explain that to your committee to have their support behind you. Always remember, especially in today's technological society, learning is always continuous. You would not like to play a video game using last year's version against someone who has been playing the newest version and plays you on their home court.
A very new change that is in the process as you read this blog is, books.
Books have been the newest innovation in academia since the Dark Ages. There have been some basic changes, mass market, etc., however a book printed in the Middle Ages can still be read today.
Books are starting to become passe. Starting with audio tapes, books have been read to us for years, CD's do the same, but the very latest item is books on line and "readers". Soon you will not have libraries that you go in to check out a book, you will simply order it on line and download it to your reader, then you will read it on the "moniter" and hit a button to turn the page. Don't become frustrated, you have become accustomed to change. You already do most of this with your e-mails, texting, buying on line, etc. Learn to use it to better "The Greater Good."