Lifelong learning begins with self-learning.

On March 2-3, General Secretary To Lam wrote an article about lifelong learning. Following General Secretary To Lam's article, Tuoi Tre newspaper recorded additional opinions surrounding the topic of lifelong learning.

Young people buy books at Ho Chi Minh City Book Street - Photo: TU TRUNG

As the founder and director of two charitable educational organizations in Vietnam, the Compassionate Book Shelf and the House of Wisdom, Nguyen Anh Tuan believes that in the context of a constantly changing society, lifelong learning has become an essential element in helping individuals enhance their knowledge, expand opportunities, and maintain competitiveness.

Learn anytime, anywhere.

What are your thoughts on lifelong learning?

- I believe lifelong learning begins with self-study, diligent learning after graduation, and updating knowledge every day. Learning isn't just about getting a degree. Personally, I consider lifelong learning almost mandatory or a given.

Because in a rapidly changing society, old knowledge easily becomes outdated. This isn't something we've only realized in the age of AI; even 10, 20 years ago, or even further back, the world has been constantly evolving every day.

Learning in school is only a very small part of what we will need in life. Therefore, lifelong learning is necessary, and we must learn continuously. Every single day, we must update our knowledge with new information.

The world is changing rapidly. If you don't adapt, or if you're even slightly lazy, you'll fall behind quickly.

* It seems that promoting lifelong learning is also one of the guiding principles of the House of Wisdom and the Library of Compassion, isn't that right, sir?

- We started operating many years ago with the mission of spreading the spirit of lifelong learning and popularizing education through self-study and lifelong learning. We believe that everyone can learn anywhere, anytime, and with anyone. Anyone can be a teacher. Everyone can be an "educator" - learning, teaching, and sharing knowledge with each other.

With the Charitable Bookcase, we bring together a love of reading, liberal education, and a sense of community in learning. We encourage reading in the community and support educational initiatives.

Our book collections have now been deployed in many localities, providing learning opportunities for thousands of people. Last Sunday, together with a group of Polytechnic alumni, we donated over 1,132 books to primary schools in Lam Dong.

At the House of Wisdom, we also organize programs such as free classes for underprivileged children, workshops on life skills, and online educational support projects to help adults continue learning. The classes vary in format, content, and target audience, but they all share the same goal: to enable everyone to continuously acquire some knowledge.

Most recently, on March 1st, we launched an online course for 86 fifth-grade students at Nghia Dong Primary School in Tan Ky District, Nghe An Province. The students will learn online with two volunteer instructors, both Vietnamese students currently attending high school in Georgia, USA. They will receive free online English lessons, focusing on communication skills.

We believe this is a widespread approach that doesn't require much funding but still helps many students. We think there's no shortage of teachers, only a shortage of students. As a famous saying goes, when a student wants to learn, a teacher will appear.

Learning in school is only a very small part of what we will need in life. Therefore, lifelong learning is necessary, and we must learn continuously. Every single day, we must update our knowledge with new information.

Where there are students, there will be teachers.

* In your opinion, how can schools build lifelong learning skills in their students?

In my opinion, schools can encourage lifelong learning by creating an active learning environment where students not only acquire knowledge from teachers but also learn how to explore and research on their own. Methods such as project-based learning, debate, and individual research can all help students develop proactive learning habits.

In addition, schools should integrate soft skills education programs, such as research skills, critical thinking, and time management, so that students can continue to learn effectively even after leaving the school environment.

In addition, students can start with small things like reading books, participating in discussions, and taking online courses. Most importantly, they should maintain a habit of learning and not be afraid to face new things. Another effective way is to join learning communities where people can share knowledge and encourage each other to progress.

How do you personally practice lifelong learning?

- I always maintain a daily reading habit, participate in online courses and professional seminars. But I often learn more from friends, teachers, and casual conversations over coffee on the street than through formal means. Sometimes, a really in-depth conversation with a highly knowledgeable friend can help me absorb a lot of valuable and practical knowledge.

For any topic I want to learn about, I'll start by learning on my own. I can search online or use AI. Nowadays, there's a lot of knowledge and questions you can learn with AI, from very academic topics to everyday things like... washing rice and cooking. Just 10-15 minutes of talking to AI can significantly improve your knowledge on a particular subject.

If the internet, AI, or books still don't satisfy me, I'll seek out people who can help me find the answers. I also hold the same belief I had when building the House of Wisdom and the Library of Compassion: that if you want to learn, a teacher will appear.

Not learning will leave you behind.

In particular, parents must also learn to answer their children's questions. Teachers themselves also need to learn throughout their lives. Clearly, in some places, with some subjects like English, many teachers may have fallen behind their students. Therefore, teachers must also know how to update their knowledge. Otherwise, they themselves will be left behind.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/hoc-tap-suot-doi-bat-dau-tu-tu-hoc-20250304103140339.htm