I have been too flippant about what I truly believe is the nature of human learning so here is what I think...

Learning in humans is simply "play" that continues beyond childhood and is perpetrated by evolution by the same device that makes play fun.

Unfortunately this device is superseded by the social needs of all cultures as they compete with each other for continuance through time. (in other words a vibrant culture can't have all its denizens growing tulip plants when other cultures are raising their kids for aggressive war.)

So therefore we have schools where learning is painful but collectively functional, but with the coming of the Liber-library on the Internet all that is about to change.