Fear in Academics

I have observed people around me, through my growing up years, and children whom I tutor on a voluntary basis, and noticed that we all want to give the right answers to questions as much as possible. Students are looking for the right answers in various places in the modern day society. Through the internet, textbooks, or even asking friends for help, most students seek the most accurate answer as possible when it comes to solving a problem.

Some children whom I have taught have actually stopped at every single question which they are unsure of and asked if the answer was correct, or checked if every step of the working that they had done was correct. Even in universities, there may be some who are not willing to speak up and attempt to answer a question as they may fear that their answer is too silly and that the rest of the class will laugh at them.

Which got me thinking, "Could the education system have indirectly affected us in a negative way?"

The education system definitely has taught us to do our best, and score as high a grade as possible. Teachers and lecturers are there to guide us and point us in the right direction. Most of them even prompt the class to answer some questions to further clarify the point that they are trying to make. So why are we so afraid of making an attempt at giving the answers? Could this mentality to score a good grade at school have led to fear developing in our lives?

At this point, I realize that the best time to make mistakes is while we are still in school. Mistakes are part and parcel of the learning process. It gives us the chance to explore, and confirm our understanding on a subject matter. Making mistakes at school allows the teacher to correct it, and prompts the teacher to explain the question and solution in an alternate manner so that there is better understanding. Once you are out in the industry, mistakes made may cost companies time and money, and therefore are discouraged.

Coming from a programming background during my tertiary education, I find that there more often than not, there are many ways of tackling the same problem. If one solution does not work out for me, I find another one, or experiment with various methods until I get a solution. Optimizations and improvements can come later, improving the speed and efficiency for solving a problem. The main thing is to primarily solve the problem first, before exploring other optimizations. That way, if all else fails, at least I still have something that works.

Let us not be hindered by fear of making mistakes at school. Make more mistakes in school while we can, and learn from them. In fact, I feel that making mistakes in class should be encouraged! It would probably help us remember better as well! That is why we go to school right? To learn new things...

I shall end my post here tonight. Maybe I will post something similar next time on comfort zones.

Till then, make more mistakes, and keep on learning!