Why?

Just finished a group presentation for genre studies an hour ago and received some feedback on it, including our previous written assessments. Wasn't too happy with my marks as this is probably my favourite subject and well, I try to do well in it. But I definitely couldn't fault the lecturer's comments as they were true. Most of us in the class could analyse the texts well on their own, but we couldn't critically compare them with each other or to critically explain why we pinpointed those features of the text. We just did them because we had to. 

This is so similar to the mindset of the students most of us teach. They learn and do the things they do...simply because they HAVE to. Or so they think. In the current Malaysian education system, this may be the case, where we just have to learn these pre-set subjects and focus on these areas so we can do well in exams. But once students reach university, these concepts go out the window. In most good universities, critical thinking is crucial. This is also later seen in their future careers and life itself. We may be able to identify the problems or things to focus on....but the lecturers don't want to know what is the problem. They want to know, WHY is that the problem, and why is it important....and well...how do you fix it later? What are the consequences if you don't fix the problem...why do you fix it in such a way..and so on. We need to link the Why to What we do....

So, the most important question in studies and basically life in general...is...WHY?????

We get so caught up in our busy lives, trying to finish our never-ending to-do lists...trying to balance everything that we do, from life to playtime. But I think most of us tend to forget, why are we doing all that? Why do we work so hard everyday? Why do we slot in time to do some things..and leave out others? It becomes methodical and automatic for us to just make time for everything, but we never stop and think, is it really an important thing to do? Could we make do without doing that? If we turned down someone's request, would they really suffer without our help...or die? Why do we do things a certain way, and why not another way?

There's so much that I could actually write on. But basically, I think most of us have gotten so used to things that we never actually question ourselves...or question the status quo. I think I will try to live my life in such a way, that I should always ask myself 'WHY???' first before I do anything. Instead of just accepting something as it is...I should ask 'Why should I do it? Why is it important? Why is it done in such a way? Would another way be better?' and more. Basically, look at the big picture, instead of focusing on the small details right off the bat. 

So despite feeling bad about my marks, which were actually not too bad, but the competitive side of me refuses to accept them...I need to think of the big picture. Will I ever remember how I did for this assessment after some time, or will I remember that because of this, I was reminded to look at the big picture? I think, I will be more likely to remember that I need to think of the 'Why?' in life, or anything at all. Always think critically and try to link what we notice to what we learn. Not to accept status quo or things as they are. There is never 1 set rule for doing things, coz different people see and do things differently and we just have to accept that. So sometimes, we need to think out of the box and be open to various possibilities. So one month later, I probably won't remember that I got 10.5 out of 15...but I will try to open my mind to the big picture. It helps that I'll be in Bali, this time next month. Hehehe. :)