The Devolution of Learning and the Irony of Achievement

Our world has transformed into one of achievement, a world in which who you are as a person no longer depends on the how and the why, but the what. We are defined by our resume, a list of titles we’ve served and awards we’ve won. We do things for the wrong reasons: not for intrinsic satisfaction or the pursuit of knowledge, but for a societal construct of approval: a recognition of value from society. A word has entered my vocabulary this year as the most hated, yet the most applicable. “Quack” – someone who presents himself as more than he is: a satirical replacement for the adjective “pretentious”. One who cares more for a list of accomplishments than for personal values is a quack to me. What happened to the simple pursuit of knowledge, the satisfaction of the curiosity we were born with? What happened to the internal fulfillment we feel in knowing what we have is what we deserve?

As babies we were blessed with a capacity to learn. We wield the ability to perceive and explore – to gather the pickings of the world and store them in our vacant minds. We held an innate curiosity – a wonder about the world – a simple incentive to understand so powerful we amassed seemingly impossible skills like language acquisition. Observe a child at play and notice that he doesn’t seem to think very much. He perceives, and tries. And through the trial and error, he somehow learns. He’s not concerned with receiving recognition for his learning; the mere prospect is the joy of the process.

Learning is inherent yet it has become a chore; we fight against learning the knowledge we are ironically privileged to be exposed to. Comically, even teachers, our bearers of information, warn us against taking too many AP classes, claiming that taking more doesn’t guarantee our spot in top colleges, as if college is the ultimate priority: to gain society’s approval into an elite institution. I shudder when people ask me about classes, only to divulge it would boosts their ranks. What’s the point of taking so for digits? What’s the point of entering a realm of information only to have it be Sunday night baggage? Our world has become a funny place of fights for the number, of zombies staggering through school without consideration of value.

And then the manifestation of quacks: the resume. Typing up club registration forms this year, I was flabbergasted to see almost seventy clubs, most of which will drift into nonexistence as the year rolls by. The irony of the clubs is that passion is not priority; naturally when you have to build a resume for college, the title comes before the purpose. But where’s the fulfillment in being something you actually worked your ass off for? Where’s the guilt in owning a tag as void as Trump’s policies? Work is given a negative connotation, implying a brute effort of slave labor. But work and contribution should not be confused. It is contribution that grants fulfillment. It is contribution that gives us a purpose in life. It is only from our intrinsic understanding of our value, knowing that we are worthy because we have contributed, that satisfaction is removed from the strings of society as we can truly appreciate ourselves. Ultimately, fulfillment is irreplaceable by society’s short-lived approval.

I used to care. I used to try to change the world and inspire those around me. But I’ve long since learned to become removed, to see the world through a lens rather than the eyes of an active player. Twisted amusement rather than ignitions of anger is certainly more entertaining. Why should I care if society is falling into a rut for the rat race. Why should I care if people choose to be defined by void numbers and titles.  Recognition before merit is the latest fad, a trend worth splurging time for. And curiosity, our tool for uncovering the treasures and the truths of the world, is overrated. Ignorance is bliss right? And ruts of society’s constructs are even more so.