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LEARNING
(c) 1987 by Jehana.
Disseminate freely if copied in entirety
The learning process can be examined as a three-tiered model (remembering that, as
always, the map is almost always not the territory). The three tiers I shall examine
are:
For any reasonable approximation of full and complete learning to have occurred,
all three stages are necessary. One might argue that there are different types of
learning, and that each of these types have their own requirements; or that science
must be learned differently than philosophy, but I think there are fundamental similarities
governing the learning of all types of things -- the emphasis and mechanisms may
change, but the underlying principles apparently remain.
Absorption is the act of taking the external and bringing it into the internal. Absorption
may involve the cramming of information for final exams; it may involve the day-to-day
experiences of life; it may involve the shattering emotional impact of traumas. However,
this emotional impact is not reacted to at this stage of the learning process. Absorption
is the coming aware of information, whether for short or long term, from the whole
body of constant information bombarding the physical senses at all times. Not all
that is witnessed or studied becomes absorbed -- the human mind needs a filtering
agent.
Integration is an internal process, where the knowledge recently gained is integrated
with what is already in the mind. No mind ever starts out as a vacuum, despite the
efforts of generic television to assume this. Not all that is absorbed is integrated
-- that which falls into short-term memory is not; nor is material that is studied
simply to know for the knowing's sake. A deep and thorough internal integration of
material is not necessary in all fields of study, although to some extent this takes
place in all devotees of a subject, whether it be mathematics, engineering, art,
or philosophy. This integration leaves its touches upon the person, and will affect
his/her filtering for material to absorb in the future. Be advised that some integration
is voluntary; while other integration is involuntary. The actual process of integration
bears no relation to what Other People Are Doing (although one may integrate a dependency
upon others, for instance.) A conscious awareness of integration is fostered in the
study of certain religious paths (such as the Craft) and in many of the philosophies,
as well as in many of the arts. The necessity for the stage of integration is one
reason why the learning of anything of internal value generally takes time -- there
are no Instant Philosophies which work.
Expression is essential for communication. It is a step shallowly expressed in the
regurgitation of information on a quickly-studied exam, but when dealing with philosophy,
art, or livelihood, it should be of more durable quality -- in other words, expression
should be tempered with the fires of Integration.Expression may be involuntary (the
fright reaction from a phobia), or it may be voluntary -- but the most fervent Expression
is rooted within the internal regions of the being, and is not the shallow sort of
expression related to acting the way other people expect you to act; for simply the
purpose of scratching that itch of satisfaction (gaining or giving satisfaction).
The most useful forms of Expression occur in taking that information which one has
both Absorbed and Integrated, and then Expressing it. However, needless to say, some
forms of Expression (i.e., phobias) may be well-integrated and absorbed, but are
counterproductive to happiness. The true conscious learner must therefore take a
hand in what he/she decides to learn/unlearn (the steps involved in the process of
Unlearning are the same as those in the process of Learning.)
All portions of the Absorption, Integration, and Expression cycle are necessary for
true learning to take place. While much of the current school system as set up in
today's society emphasizes the Absorption and the Expression stages, leaving the
Integration process to be assumed, children still do grow up learning to emulate
and integrate the values that impinge upon them. (Not all these values are necessarily
beneficial -- the learning process does not always rely on those values externally
professed, but does pick up on those implied on a deeper level.) Therefore, say,
a geography lesson need not be Integrated within the student, as a study of values
or personal transformation should most definitely be. A student has, through life
experiences, already Integrated a system of functioning; of viewing the world. (Indeed,
the student may have Integrated a varying set of systems -- this often leads to internal
conflicts, which really should be resolved. Within certain alternative Philosophies,
Integration of other ways of viewing the world and the person is done in a more purposeful
manner. The student learns that true learning is not in rote memorization but in
the acceptance and the working with of all three stages of learning. Also, the student
learns to realize that Integration is a personal stage, wherein the information absorbed
interacts with that he/she has already Integrated during life -- therefore this Integration
may definitely not resemble the Integration process of another student in the same
class. Nor should Expression be forced (at least when dealing with the momentous
events of a life-philosophy -- it should come from the heart -- in other words, it
should come from the Expression of the Absorption and the Integration the student
has undergone, rather than from what someone else has decreed to be Proper).
