Attending an academically rigorous institution like USC wields an underlying pressure to always remain well-versed. 

We’re constantly encompassed by alumni success stories and the impressive milestones of our peers, accentuating a mirage that everyone around us is exceptionally accomplished. It’s natural to place our peers on a pedestal, but such a high idealization ignites a failure to accept individual gaps in our knowledge.

I observe this tendency daily. My friends and I frequently discuss current affairs, yet I occasionally remain silent to avoid revealing that I wasn’t aware of a major development. In my classes, I sometimes avoid raising my hand to ask straightforward questions — questions I assume my classmates know the answer to. Maybe it’s inherent human pride, or maybe it’s the fear of sounding uninformed; regardless, the pressure to always appear knowledgeable often makes me feel “undereducated” against seemingly conversant peers.

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Somewhere along our educational journey, we have lost sight of intellectual humility. Instead of allowing others to be aware of our gaps in knowledge, we prefer upholding an image of appearing informed, even when we aren’t. The explanation for this behavior is that academic unawareness is now equated with ignorance, a term that holds an intensely negative connotation. But true education is not centered around mastering every concept; rather, it is about having the humility to admit our weaknesses and grow from the diverse perspectives and experiences of our peers.

To understand why educational humility is becoming stigmatized, it is imperative to first distinguish educational ignorance from unawareness. Although these terms both allude to a lack of knowledge, they represent different dispositions that motivate a dismissal of educational humility. Ignorance promotes a cycle of isolation, which stems from a refusal to engage with different perspectives. In cases of educational ignorance, curiosity is rendered futile, as there is no desire to comprehend the life experiences of those around us. Ultimately, ignorance only limits our exposure to the issues of our developing globe. 

Unawareness, on the other hand, holds deeper undertones that are not always noticeable. Educational unawareness can derive from a variety of systematic inequalities, specifically a lack of access to resources and opportunities that shape the knowledge we acquire. Thus, knowledge stems from a place of privilege — namely, having the opportunity to have sufficient academic support — rather than the amount of effort dedicated to learning. 

In 2022, the Annie E. Casey Foundation stated that 84% of Black fourth-grade students were not able to read at a fourth-grade proficiency level due to educational disparities. With another example, the New York Times stated in an article on standardizing testing performances that “the more funding schools get, the better students do.” Thus, educational development is seen to be directly correlated to socioeconomic status and underlying racial identity, which affects how proficient individuals are in respective topics. These underlying knowledge gaps guided by diverse, educational equity experiences do not deteriorate while arriving at a higher education like USC — they only continue to affect how students engage with each other in academic spaces. 

The truth is that admitting we are uninformed requires a significant amount of vulnerability. In highly academic spaces, where intelligence is equated to mastery, accepting knowledge gaps can act as an admission of incompetence. When we reveal to others that we are unfamiliar with a topic, we give away our power to form our own opinions and allow our peers to sway our perceptions. Yet, intellectual growth only arises from the willingness to learn.

While some argue self-reliance in an academic setting promotes independence, it can discourage learning from others’ diverse experiences and lead to intellectual stagnation. Specifically, we all carry distinctive insights in a society filled with diverse backgrounds and identities that shape our understanding of the world. Knowledge is only enhanced through open dialogue and exchanging these respective diverse experiences; when we avoid questioning out of fear of seeming uninformed, we deprive ourselves of further insight. To a more dangerous extent, we create a culture where intellectual arrogance is prioritized over curiosity, discouraging learning from those around us. 

Before truly growing, we must value humility. Whether by normalizing inquiries about unfamiliar topics or simply asking for help, we need to shift away from trying to craft a perfect answer and embrace learning. Life is a constant cycle of hidden learning experiences; thus, we must focus on exposing ourselves to diverse perspectives and relinquishing the pride that hinders educational growth.