DOES STUDYING AND READING GUARANTEE LEARNING?

In the few years I have existed, I have seen how the "average" (though more) Nigerian Child has been forced into boxes that undermine the vast potential in them by their Parents, Teachers, Peers, and the Society at Large. I grew up hearing these words repeatedly: (1) Go to school, FACE your BOOKS; (2) STUDY hard so you can come out with GOOD GRADES and then, get a GOOD JOB, from Parents, Relatives, Family, Teachers, and Friends. I asked the question some years ago after a few experiences with graduates who had completed their undergraduate courses with GOOD GRADES, who were floored by people who had far LESSER GRADES - Does Finishing with a GOOD GRADE really show that you have learnt so much?

During my National Youth Service, I met several Nigerian Graduates who boasted of GOOD GRADES but were either poor in communication and speaking GOOD (Proper) English, or had difficulty in spelling, or were unable to handle computing tools adequately (even when they were graduates of Computer Science and the like). This was in 2003, and today, (2025), it has grown worse if not "worst". The poser again - does finishing with a GOOD GRADE guarantee that so much has been learnt? Does reading so much in terms of books Guarantee Learning? 

Nigeria and other African Countries have had Professors and PhD holders for decades now, but unfortunately, my Great Country still wallows in recurrent mistakes in Leadership and Management. Is it that we are content with STUDYING and reading rather than Learning? Have our Professors and PhD holders not learnt anything? I have heard the phrase "Readers are Leaders."Is this really true concerning all that we see around us? I beg to differ. My own phrase to replace this is "Learners are Leaders."

Learning: A sure way to lead

 I have been able to start a little research, not just to look into this, but to 'see into this'. Learning is Living.

Learning and Living are two words interwoven in our contemporary world, leaving much to be desired from all angles. Having come to the understanding that Learning is an Active Process, an Activity as well as a Process, with different resources at the disposal of the learner. It is an Activity that involves the active participation of the whole being of a person; The Eyes, The Ears, The Nose, The Tongue (mouth), The Sense of Touch and The Mind, and it is a measurable amount of work performed to convert inputs into outputs with the involvement of resources (tools) such as mentioned above. 

It (Learning) can be likened to a Process that is a set or sequence of interdependent and linked procedures and activities which, at every stage, require one or more resources/tools (eyes, ears, hands, legs, mouth, mind etc.) to convert/process inputs from the real world into outputs. These outputs could then serve as inputs for another stage/process/processes, thereby creating an interconnected chain of continuous Learning.

Learning is not a one-off product, or an item that comes out of a production line and is considered perfect, needing no modifications or adjustments, NO. Learning is a product that constantly requires modification, needing to go through different production lines to achieve what comes out as Learning in the life of a human being. One thing learned – serving as an end product of one Learning process – becomes part of the raw materials of another production process, leading to another Learning outcome.

With this understanding, the resource persons involved in coordinating this active process of Learning, which leads to the acquisition of knowledge (Know-Ledge), need to create as much as possible an enabling environment that facilitates Learning leading to the acquisition of knowledge, which in turn leads to a behavioural alteration. modification or outright change. My fields of special interest include (a) “Social Media and Organisational Learning” which includes Social Learning, (b) “Knowledge Technology and Knowledge Management”, (c) “Learning Technology and management” (d)” Leadership Technology and Management” and; (e)“Adaptive Management”. I have come to see myself more as a Learner-Teacher, who readily associates with knowledge in all its ramifications. With one of my main prerogatives being to as much as possible make Learning a connecting activity by linking various subjects to real-life entities (such as objects, situations, activities, processes, and more), teaching and Learning have practically become a lifestyle.

We must constantly seek ways to create or enhance the environments we find ourselves, indirectly turning it into a Learning environment. By so doing, we find that we make ourselves friendlier to Learning processes.

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