Infinite Learning

For the Context Book Review Assignment in INFO 200, I read the book 21 Lessons for the 21st Century by Yuval Noah Harari which provides insight on the current issues and struggles facing humanity living in this modern age. Some of the difficult topics include technology, community, politics, war, and religion. Harari also looks at education systems and their immediate need to be revamped. “Too many schools focus on cramming information into kids’ brains” (Harari, 2018, p. 264). Schools focus too much on making kids memorize dates and facts for tests instead of teaching important life concepts and foundations that will be useful when they are older. As technology changes at an alarming rate, how will children let alone adults keep up with these changes? Will humans be able to endure the stress of learning new technology and skillsets every few years over a lifetime? (Harari, 2018, p. 32). I believe this is one of the reasons so many people are burnt out with their jobs. They are tired of the constant need to learn new skillsets that change year by year.

     This idea has stuck with me over the last couple years. Infinite Learning is so important for librarians and information professionals to make their services relevant, yet I believe it is important to find that work life balance so that we do not get worn out ourselves. One idea for this could be to set aside a certain amount of time each week for infinite learning. Administrators should also make this a part of the job since it is directly related to our jobs. In turn, we need to be able to help users navigate the importance of infinite learning through our services, so they do not feel overwhelmed but empowered. And to help fix Harari’s point of focusing too much on memorizing instead of life skills in schools, libraries should help educate users on important life concepts and skills to help fill this educational void. This will make them better citizens of the community.

References

Harari, Y. N. (2018). 21 lessons for the 21st century. Spiegal & Grau.