CHANGE IS THE END RESULT OF ALL LEARNING !

In the 1980s, the government of Tamilnadu was confronted with a serious problem. Education levels of school-going children kept dwindling down and the drop-out ratio was unacceptably high. The government had commissioned a detailed study through which they learned that ill health and acute malnutrition were the cause of falling education standards and high drop-out ratio. The state government decided to introduce a unique scheme to solve the problem of the mid-day meal scheme. Within a couple of years, the education levels started rising and the dropout ratio was kept firmly in check. Even today, as Amartya Sen observes, the mid-day meal scheme is the prime reason for the high performance of Tamil Nadu in primary education compared to any other state.

This incident proves the age-old saying that change is the end result of all learning. Both learning and change are indispensable in order to be better humans, build better societies and shape great nations.

In this article, we will examine what is meant by ‘learning’ and ‘change’. We will then examine how learning led to change throughout history across geography. Next, we will discuss the problems and hindrances in learning and changing. Finally, we will conclude by seeing how we can instill change in our lives through constant learning.

Learning and change: definition

Learning can be understood as the process of acquiring new ideas, examples, and processes that add value to our knowledge and thinking. For instance, when we teach a child that stealing is bad, he learns that he should not do it. When we teach children that men and women are equal, they learn that a patriarchal society is unjustified and immoral. Thus it can be seen that from learning comes change.

Change refers to a fundamental transformation in our attitudes, values and belief systems. The more we learn about society and the world, the more amenable we become to change.

How leaning leads to change: across space and time

Historically from 1500 to 1860, for 350 years, slavery was considered the norm. But Abraham Lincoln showed the world that, the American civil war was not only about saving the union but also about abolishing the unjust, immoral practice of slavery. As the US learned a bitter lesson through war and bloodshed, it decided to abolish slavery through the 13th Amendment to the US constitution.

Back home, Mahatma Gandhi united the country and taught the world about non-violent struggle. The world had changed its outlook and changed its attitude toward violence.

Similarly, in the economic field, it was earlier that capitalism was the panacea for curing poverty. But unbridled capitalism ravaged societies in poor countries of Asia and Africa. No country today allows complete freedom of markets, all countries have now changed towards a mix of capitalism and societism as followed by developed Nordine nations such as Denmark and Sweden.

Further, GDP was the single parameter to gauge the prosperity of a country before 1990. Through Mahbub-ul-Haq and Amartya Sen’s efforts, we have learned that the human development index is a much better parameter to capture all-around development. Thus the nations of the world changed from GDP to HDI through learning and change.

In politics too, there is always a constant flush. French Revolution was the result of learning that all humans are equal and liberty, equality, and fraternity are every person’s fundamental rights. This simple realization led to the abolishment of dictatorship and the establishment of the French Republic. Even today, the Arab Spring gives us a good example of how when people learn about new ideas it leads to change. This relationship between learning and change extends to the social sphere as well.

Before the 1950s, women were thought to be inferior to men. Their freedoms were restrained and their rights restricted. But as we learned about the inherent equality between men and women, we are constantly striving to achieve gender justice. India was one of the first nations to grant universal franchises to all, thus marking the beginning of change.

Similarly today, our regressive attitudes towards the LGBTQ community are constantly being demolished as we learn about the scientific and moral reasons to recognize and celebrate the LGBTQ community. The struggle to repeal section 377 of the IPC is a journey towards change.

Moreover, even in the administrative sphere, we see the interplay of learning and change. As we learn that corruption is a result of officers’ discretion, the government is framing laws to move towards online delivery of services ( direct benefit transfer). Government schemes such as Soil Health Cards, and strat-up India are all result of learning and changing policies for a better future.

Lastly, learning and change are most relevant in tackling climate change. There is strong scientific consensus - 97% that man-made causes are the prime drivers of climate change and planet destruction. This learning has challenged our previous beliefs that climate change was a natural phenomenon. And so, the world government together in Rio in 1992 to establish UNFCCC and changed the discourse of climate. Paris climate deal of 2016 is a step towards this major change so as to ensure the safety of our planet.

Having discussed the importance of learning and change, and how learning has led to change throughout space and time, let us examine the obstacles to learning and change.

Learning and change: the barriers

Firstly, change is never easy, and there is always fierce resistance to it. There are always vested interests who want to maintain the status quo, example how dictator Bashar-Al-Assad has crushed the rebellion in Syria is a case in front.

Secondly, poverty, ignorance, and disease keep people uninformed about their rights and prevent them from changing. For example, the majority of Indians practice open defecation due to a lack of viable functioning toilets. Thus, even though a poor family wants to go to that practice, they cannot, due to a lack of resources.

Thirdly, we must realize that free speech is fundamental for learning and change. The moment there is a threat to free speech, we lose an opportunity to learn a new idea, a novel perspective. This keeps us in a perpetual state of ignorance and thus prevents us from changing. For instance, in England during Queen Victoria’s reign, there was a clampdown on any criticism of religion or ideas of the church. This made them ignore gender rights and gender justice. Thus dogma and intolerance are enemies of learning and change.

Lastly, another major barrier is the phenomenon of fake news we are witnessing recently. Our lives have become so much dependent on online content that any fake WhatsApp forward, a false story on Facebook, etc. can keep us entrenched in our own ideological echo chamber thus preventing us from appreciating others' perspectives. So how do we overcome the barriers so as to learn and change ourselves and our societies?

Learning and change: towards a better future

As Nelson Mandela famously said, “if you want to change the world, start with children”.

Inculcating the right values and attitudes among children is essential to build a better tomorrow. Children must not be taught what to think, but how to think. Critical thinking, reasoning, and logic are the tools that can shape children’s thinking. So that, when they are faced with a new idea, or a new perspective they shall evaluate it critically with reason rather than getting mired in dogma. As children learn through imitation, by telling examples from the lives of great persons such as Mahatma Gandhi, and Marten Luther King, we can moulid them in a way that challenges their own beliefs constantly.

Similarly, for constant learning, education must be free and decentralized. With the power of technology, we have the tools to take ideas and education even to the remotest corner of the world.

Further, our country also needs to set an example of how we can learn and change to better ourselves.

History has shown us that, change is the only constant in life. Without learning and change we risk stagnation as individuals, as a society, and as a nation. Let us avow to be constant learners and agents of change so that we build a better world for everyone. For that learning should never cease and change must begin from us. As Gandhiji one’s said, “our greatness lies not so much in changing the world as in changing ourselves”.