'''The Aim of Studying?'''

The Aim of Studying?

Have we ever asked ourselves why we must go to school? We will probably say that go to school to learn languages, mathematics, geography, religion and many other subjects. That answer is quite correct. However, why do we have to learn those subjects? And do we only study those things at school?

When we study the Indonesian language, we wish to be able to tell others clearly about what we know and understand, and also to comprehend what others tell us. We learn foreign languages, for instance English, in rder to be able to understand what people in other countries have written and said. We also try to communicate with them. We study matematics in order to be able to compute or count better.

When we go to school, in fact, we learn something more than those subjects. We never realize that when we go to school, we also keep on learning ‘how to learn’ so that when we leave to school, we can keep on learning by ourselves. A person who knows how to learn will always be succesful.

To conclude, the most important aim of studying is to know how to learn and to be able to keep on learning. In other words, studying at school helps us to learn more in our lives. I think the motto LIVE AND LEARN should be applied. Do you agree?

By Pormadi Simbolon, a student at Seminari Menengah Pematang Siantar, North Sumatera, Indonesia On DIALOGUE, An English magazine for everybody to enjoy, vol. 03/ XXI-1995