I want to oppose the idea that school has to teach directly that special knowledge and those accomplishments that one has to use directly later in life.  The development of general ability or independent thinking and judgment should always be placed foremost… If a person masters the fundamentals of his subject and has leraned to think and work independently, he will surely find his way and will better adapt himself to progress and changes than the person who training consists principally in the acquiring of detailed knowledge – Albert Einstein

A while back my friend Malcolm had wrote a post about “Taking Your Learning to the Comments” when it came to blogging. It had really resonated because at the time I was reading and now finished the book “What Smart Students Know” by Adam Robinson.

I think that it’s difficult to get into high level (“intelligent”) conversations in class at the undergrad business student level being as undergrad business students lack real world experience to contribute their personal opinions and tie it to the theory that is being taught in class. This is especially true for cut and dry fields like Information Technology, Engineering, Accounting, Finance and the like. For liberal arts courses, it’s an entirely different story where you can reflect on personal experiences, thoughts of the world, philosophies, etc.

Everything is mapped out for us and any sort of “creative expression” for your given course is really difficult because of our lack of exposure to real world application of what we learn in business school. Exceptions to this are if you’re studying entrepreneurship or involved in that field in some form or fashion where being creative and innovative in solving a real world need is a must.

The crux of the problem is that most business is the lack of the lessons being taught in class being anchored to real world application and “seeing it in action” to make what was abstract and intangible to concrete and tangible and then further reinforcing the theory that was taught in class.

The key, however, is engagement and full immersion of what’s being taught. By full immersion I mean that you’re engaging all of your senses and breathing life into what was theory and “seeing the gears turn” in real life. Any intelligent or insightful dialogue between both teacher and students or even between students is sorely lacking.

I’d say take a multi-pronged approach to learning would be more holistic. Instead of confining your learning to in class, textbook and conversations with classmates, this could be extended to online, in person, through books and conversations with your prof / classmates – ANYTHING that engages the student to think more critically about the material in making connections to the “big picture” (of the business world, life, etc…)

In terms of my own learning, most of my growth stems in the personal development field. I’d relentlessly devour anything and everything with respect to how to tackle whatever issues I may be experiencing and taking on a ‘360-degree’ perspective. This entailed going through volumes on books on spirituality to books on ‘learning how to learn’ (see “What Smart Students Know” above).

How I learn is whether the topic I’m learning about applicable in my own life, so I feel that taking a sense of responsibility and ownership over what you’re learning. Being personally invested and immersing yourself are critical success factors in “true” learning versus superficial learning for the sake of just passing the course or your undergrad degree.

I wouldn’t go so far as taking participation to online only. Rather, I’d encourage to EXTEND it to online conversations if you’re savvy enough.

Bottom line is, try anything that works for you that would further engage you and think about your subject matter more critically through taking different perspectives from other peoples’ comments. Be wary of environments that stifle critical thinking and seek other outlets to further your understanding in whatever field you may be in.

I notice that there are a few people in my life who constantly bring up what I’m going to do after accounting. To be honest, it’s really quite draining when they ask me about my progress, and it isn’t the encouraging kind of inquisition – it almost feels like disdain or pity to prop their own situations up.

As for getting help, subconsciously, I know I have a lot of pride, but when it comes to asking for help.. how can you ask for help when you haven’t truly done the work. I can’t stand asking for help when I haven’t put in the work to do so. It’s almost as if I’m going through a subconscious backlash that is preventing me from doing what needs to be done.

I’m not one to lash out, but I feel as if I’m being stretched to the max as I come close to finishing these courses with the thought of just “passing them”. But then again, I’m still aware that I’m making a mountain out of a molehill. Perhaps I’m just being whiny about how I’m not “feeling” the material or that I’m not “passionate” about Accounting or Tax.

While this is a public journal for myself to reflect upon, I implore those who read these posts to KEEP ME ACCOUNTABLE – meaning leave me comments or anything My psychology towards my graduation isn’t the healthiest because in actuality, all I really want to do is just pass so I can move on and get into the CMA Accelerated program and actually LEARN AND REMEMBER accounting material from years ago that, for the life of me, I can’t remember.

And to those who keep on asking me about “How I’m doing with Accounting?” or “How’s the job hunt?” – I’m doing great as I’m going at my own pace and I’d just to add.. Bugger off!

- Will

Since my last update, I’ve been swamped with studying for midterms after fully making use of Reading Week (March break for us Canadians) by reading The level of focus, clarity with what needs to be covered in my Consolidations and Corporate Tax courses has taken precedence of what would normally be training regularly for my half-marathon. But for anyone else during these times that require intense focus, you shouldn’t drop everything that isn’t related to my studies.

Originally uploaded by eduardo.peiro

While I don’t have my new running shoes that I ordered from eBay in my possession yet, I’ve supplemented some of my long and tempo runs by cross training with swimming. So far I’m up to 22 lengths consecutively, where I add an extra lap for each week.

Squeezing in a workout during midterms is challenging but not impossible. It doesn’t need to be a full fledged workout. It can be a brisk 30 minute jog, a few laps around the pool to get the heart pumping or some core body work for the abs. You just need to keep in mind your priorities and stick to your schedule.

I’ve been experimenting with Parkinson’s Law and Pareto’s Principle (80/20 rule) just not just studying for midterms in order to increase my productivity but all areas of my life as well. So far, it’s working great, but I need to be conscious of these principles as well as visual reminders of those principles. The results have been positive so far, and I’ll explore these concepts further in a future post.

Why I insist on training during studies is that it keeps my mind sharp and my energy level up in order to what I need to get accomplished despite having a full day’s worth of studying, and more… which reminds me – I have to go to the pool now.

I’ve got some awesome articles on cultivating charisma, leadership and improv coming down the pipeline. Stay tuned!

- Will