The importance of Unlearning: An example from film

A couple of months ago I was introduced to the concept of Unlearning by this article on the Brain friendly trainer website. In the two months that have followed I have witnessed many examples of Unlearning that have highlighted it’s importance for business and society as a whole. This prompted me to explore the subject further and I headed over to Unlearning 101, which I can thoroughly recommend for anyone looking for Unlearning inspiration.

For those not familiar with the term ‘Unlearning’, it is used to describe the ability to see things from a new perspective, to challenge commonly held beliefs or to actively seek out new ideas rather than accept given assumptions. When I think about it, it is only natural that I should see the importance of Unlearning since it goes hand in hand with learning, which is one of my great passions, and sometimes in order to learn we may need to simultaneously Unlearn contrasting ideas and beliefs.

The ability to Unlearn is extremely important for a wide variety of reasons, including the changing dynamics of business, the environment, politics, society and technology. In the present day we are extremely susceptible to change and it cannot be stressed how important it is we are able to learn and unlearn in order to adapt. Those that are able to challenge assumptions and actively seek out new ways of doing things will prosper over those that stand still and stick to the same old way of doing things.

Over the next couple of posts I am going to share some examples of Unlearning which help me to highlight it’s importance. The first example I am sharing is from the world of film, but it is an incredibly inspiring and true story:

I recently watched the film Freedom Writers (yes ok, I am slightly behind everyone else). Freedom Writers is a true story which follows a teacher (Hilary Swank) in an inner city American school plagued with violence and racial tension and in which drive-by shootings are common-place. The teacher is repeatedly told by her colleagues that the students at the school are unreachable no-hopers and that she would do well to teach them some discipline rather than attempt to engage them in education. However, she challenges this assumption and by giving the students the benefit of the doubt and encouraging them to write and tell their own stories she leads them to discover the power of tolerance, peace and education. This is an extremely powerful example of Unlearning and how beneficial fighting against commonly held truths can be, know matter how tough the fight.

In some of my forthcoming posts I will share some examples of Unlearning from the business world. In the meantime I would love to hear your take on the importance of Unlearning and in particular any personal examples you have of Unlearning in action…

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Tagged as: business, film, freedom writers, learning, unlearning

http://leadershipfreak.wordpress.com Dan Rockwell

Hi Jed,

Great topic.

Einstein said, “We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.”
http://www.unlearning101.com Jack Uldrich

Jed: Great post (and thanks for the plug). I'm even further behind you and haven't yet watched Freedom Fighters — but now intend to.

That being said I'm a big fan of using films for unlearning. One of my favorite's is “12 Angry Men” with Henry Fonda: http://www.unlearning101.com/fuhgetaboutit_the_…

This short clip from Dead Poet's Society also offers another wonderful example: http://www.unlearning101.com/fuhgetaboutit_the_…

Cheers,

Jack
http://twitter.com/SinclairChiro Sinclair Clinic

Jed: Great post, I was directed here through Dan Rockwell's tweet. Your blog brought back some memories for me so I thought I'd share them here. I am a chiropractor and going through school I had to unlearn everything I thought I knew about health and wellness. It was a battle in the beginning as I learned more information about chiropractic philosophy the harder I fought the paradigm shift. Unlearning that fact that healing comes from within and not within a pill / powder or potion.

Today, I am still trying to teach my patients to not run to the medicine cabinet every time they have an ache, pain, sniffle or cough. I know this doesnt really apply to the overall theme of your blog but it does remind me that my journey was not an easy one and to keep that in mind when I'm speaking with my patients and that what they think they know about health, has led them to be in the poor health that they report to me with. So my unlearning can be a benefit to them and their families. Thanks for that!
annholman

Great post Jed and spooky that we blogged about the same thing on the same day. Only by challenging assumptions can we move forward. Our roles whatever we do are going to change in the next few years and to cope with that change, as you quite rightly allude to, is the ability to unlearn certain stuff.

Extreme uncertainty is on the way and using a lot of old school ideas perhaps isn't going to help us at all!
http://www.jedlangdon.com/ Jed Langdon

Thanks for stopping by and commenting Ann, I appreciate your input. The fact that we both wrote about the same subject at the same time just goes to prove what an important topic it is at the moment!

*Ann has recently written a great blog post on Unlearning titled “Forget it”. You can find it at: http://annholman.co.uk/leadership/forget-it/
http://www.jedlangdon.com/ Jed Langdon

Hello, thanks for your kind comments and for sharing a brilliant example of unlearning in action! I'm glad I could bring back some memories for you.

The example you have shared is very relevant to the theme of my post and teaching your patients to not run to the medicine cabinet is actually a great microcosm of a wider social Unlearning need – that of not always looking for a quick fix or easy way out. Sometimes we need to face a problem head on and work hard to solve it rather than looking for a shortcut or easy way out. I for one will think twice before reaching for the painkillers in future!

Thank you once again for adding value to this post.
http://www.jedlangdon.com/ Jed Langdon

Hi Dan. Thanks very much for visiting and for sharing a brilliant Einstein quote. This quote encapsulates why Unlearning is so important perfectly.

Thanks again.
http://www.jedlangdon.com/ Jed Langdon

Hi Jack. That clip from Dead Poet's Society is a terrific example of the resistance to looking at things in a new or different way. I haven't watched Dead Poet's Society for many years but I am inspired to watch it again soon. I haven't seen 12 Angry Men before but will make sure I watch that too!

Thanks for taking the time to read my post and comment. I look forward to sharing more Unlearning examples with each other soon.

Cheers,
Jed
http://twitter.com/KristinaEvey Kristina Evey

Jed, this is a unique concept that I wish more businesses would embrace. Unlearning is roughly the equivalent to change and usually I find that leaders SAY they embrace change, yet in practice, they resist.

When I find that people are resistant to change, I have some success by saying ” I know we can't do that right now, but if we could….. what would it take to make that happen?” That validates their resistance in their minds, yet gets them past it to start thinking creatively.

Thanks for bringing this back into our awareness of thinking “differently” than we are used to and unlearning our (usually) self-imposed obstacles.
http://www.jedlangdon.com/ Jed Langdon

Excellent comment Kristina, resistance to change certainly is a massive barrier to Unlearning. It is only natural to be resitant to change, but it can certainly hold individuals and companies back. And there is certainly a real skill in knowing when resitance is warranted and when it needs to be overcome.

I love the creative way you approach the subject with people that are resistant to change. Do you find that once creative thinking has started it is easier to overcome the initial resistance and Unlearn the previous behaviours?

Thanks for your great input and for teaching me a neat way of getting past the resitance to change.

Jed