Is it possible to train yourself to become academically minded? - Writing Wednesday
Hello everybody and welcome back to another blog post,
Is it possible to train yourself to become academically minded? This is a question that I'm sure many of us think about, even if we're not completely aware of it.
If you don't know what I'm talking about, then I should probably explain what I mean by this question. The concept that there are some people in the world who are born "naturally smart," to me, is an understable statement. I'm sure we've all seen those students who've seemed to have grasped certain subjects like maths and science, in a way that no one could do on the spot in the beginning stages of learning the subjects. I'm sure we've also seen those students who seldom seem to struggle in comprehending higher ability topics in academically-demanding subjects like maths and science. The truth is, I'm sure we've all seen those "duck to water" students who have the amazing ability to work with any complicated equation that they've ever come across. But, what I mean by this question is that if you're not brought into this world with that "natural" mindset, is it even possible to reprogramme your mind to understand that skill of expertise?
If you want to know my answer to this question, I think yes, if you really want it to happen.
We were going through a similar question in one of our ToK (philosophy) lessons at school and it really made me think about the prospect. The reason why I think that training yourself in understanding more academic topics is entirely possible is because I've seen so many other people do it before. I was not a complete failure in maths and science or even English for that matter but when I was first learning the subjects, the way of thinking didn't really click with me until much later on in school and I'm still on that process of learning now. I think I improved because I really wanted to and I was prepared to put in the work that I needed to do and luckily it came to me at the right time because I feel like now I have the better ability to work with more academic subjects and I no longer just have that creative way of thinking.
One of my favourite TV programmes to watch is the The Supervet. It's the documentary equivalent of James Herriot's All Creatures Great and Small (which is also really good) and I just think it's amazing. Noel Fitzpatrick, who owns Fitzpatrick Refferals, is a bionic vet who does life-changing surgeries on some of our most beloved animals and I just think that this man is a genius. However, I don't think he's always had it easy. He actually used to struggle a lot at school and he was bullied because of the gaps in his knowledge. Despite that though, he was able to put in the hard graft and go to veterinary school and later become a professor. If that doesn't say that you can build up your knowledge from basically nothing, I don't know what will.
Another classic example of someone who's defied adversities is Einstein. The famous Jewish physicist that we all know and appreciate, actually was dyslexic and has had to deal with that learning difficulty, whilst understanding physics which is a difficult field in science. However, despite this, he put in his time and effort into coming up with the General Theory of Relativity (E=mc2) and this is a fundamental piece of knowledge that many scientists continue to abide by to this day. There are many challenges in life that we may face but I think this just about proves that it is entirely possible to overcome them if you are committed enough.
I'm not saying that the pathway to extreme intelligence is at all easy. If anything, if you are not naturally "gifted" in the area of knowledge, it can be a real challenge to become more academically minded. However, even if it takes you the rest of your living life to understand more difficult topics, I still believe that with hard work and perseverance, you can overcome your limits. Maybe you won't get the exam results you wanted and maybe you won't get into the university that you want but that doesn't mean that the process of learning stops there. If you want to get better you won't stop at the classroom level. You'll keep on finding ways to learn more until you reach your own point of success.
During the lockdown period, I watched a very funny film called Educating Rita with Julie Walters in it and although it was supposed to be light-hearted film, it actually conveyed a really important message that I think is important to share. It was about a woman called Rita (Julie Walters) who despite being in her mid twenties and having left school with no basic qualifications, decided that it would be her mission to get a degree in English through the Open University. You'd expect a woman like her to be mad and weird for starting her real education at such a late stage in her life. However, Rita persevered with her tutor and studied hard for her English degree. In the end, she was able to pass her exam with flying colours and I think that just shows you that challenges can be overcome if you really want to overcome them. No matter what situation you're in, I believe that if you want to become more academic, you can!
What do you think? Is it possible to become more academically minded? Let me know in the comments below and I'll be sure to reply to them. I ♡ hearing from you!
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See you next time,
Bye,
XOX, Juliette
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