The value of learning is an essential pedagogy that brings one close to the edge, only to be pushed. Melly Mel rocks in the “The Message” that once one is pushed from the edge they “lose their head.” I have come to the conclusion that as you learn, the losing of your head or conversely your mind, is inevitable. Learning puts one in a context of questioning. As one learns they start to question the very essence of that which they learned, not in disbelief but with an inquisitive fervor for a greater impact upon their own life. The mere gorging of facts serves no value other than being able to impress others that you have read others thoughts and can recall them on demand. But one who takes the learned information and apply them to their everyday lives, beckons upon a new horizon that is constantly in transformation. This transformation causes one to wrestle with truth in a personal way. This then leads one back to the context which is self identified by the learner.  This is important because one continues the eternal search for truth only in disciplines of interest.

Cornel West denotes to learn or the process of learning is “learning how to die.” This takes on the biblical passage where Jesus proclaims that for one to have life he must be willing to die. It is in the dying that one actually finds his life. The process of learning is the proverbial sword that the learner must constantly lay upon in order to advance through life’s lies. The sad truth is that one may also enter into death if they stop learning. Where there is no place of seed planting there will be no growth. If one does not plant a seed of information the reverse effect will be that stagnation will set in and death will become imminent.