Curiosity is one of my signature strengths - I’ve always been a curious person equipped with endless questions. I’ve mentioned the value added to my life after taking the Science of Wellbeing course taught by Dr. Laurie Santos. This course was offered for free on Coursera after massive success being taught at Yale University. It was a catalyst for not only my mindset change from money-driven success to happiness-based success but also towards effective learning. My whole life I’ve thought that I “don’t test well” and “school isn’t my forte.” Well, how could it be if I was continuously telling myself these messages?

In addition to the identity I had bestowed upon myself, I struggled with the education confines that really limit learning to a foundational degree. What do I mean about this? Our education system has a lot of work to do. It’s so easy for me to say this so I need to emphasize that I am fully aware of the privilege that allows me to not only experience but also point out flaws in the system. From a young age, the curriculum that is taught to young kids really makes or breaks their perception of the subject being taught going forward. For example, I used to hate history, similar to many students, because of the way it was taught. I was so tired of being taught fact-based renditions of what had happened because this didn’t serve me in any way nor did it remain in my memory because of lack of application and critical thinking. In Lies My Teacher Told Me, James Loewen advocates for the importance of critical thinking teachings in the subject of history.

Additionally, we are extrinsically motivated from an early age to achieve good grades so that we can get into esteemed universities and subsequently land a good job. This cycle has persisted over time and universities and companies are becoming more and more competitive. The improper reward system that this causes, in turn, motivates students to cut corners so that they are able to get by or get good grades rather than focus on actually learning.

In my Organizational Behavior class, I learned about intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation is being internally motivated to do something without any external rewards (money, gifts, etc.) while extrinsic motivation is being externally motivated by rewards or incentives. A light went off in my mind when I realized that I was never motivated to truly try in school because I was extrinsically motivated to get a well-paying job and get good grades rather than actually learn. Now, for some this might not be an issue because they might truly be interested in many things but for me, there was a noticeable difference in what I was studying and what I was interested in. It does matter and it does make a difference because the amount of information I consume pertaining to the topics that interest me today exceeds what is taught in school, I actually enjoy learning in my own time.

When I chose LMU, it wasn’t the Jesuit values that informed the decision. But looking back, it was definitely the Jesuit values that I took away from both my education as well as experience. I do believe that I received a better education than some of my peers who attended more reputable schools. The teachers were interested in me and my small class sizes provided the accountability to do the work that others in a lecture setting would have gotten away with. It isn’t just the core from which the educational requirements are structured, but the ethos that is shared by the collective student and faculty body. I can’t put into the words the value that the education of a whole person has brought to me. I don’t think I would have discovered my new professional purpose without the teachings that were designed to educate me as a human being vs. just the subject that was being taught.

Sources:

Kerr, Stephen. “On the Folly of Rewarding A, While Hoping for B.” Ohio State University, Academy of Management Journal, Dec. 1975, web.mit.edu/curhan/www/docs/Articles/15341_Readings/Motivation/Kerr_Folly_of_rewarding_A_while_hoping_for_B.pdf.

Loewen, James W. Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong. Simon & Schuster, 2007.

Loyola Marymount University. “Education of the Whole Person.” Education of the Whole Person - Loyola Marymount University, mission.lmu.edu/mission/missionstatement/educationofthewholeperson/.