Sunday, January 17, 2010
Experience Life
One's intelligence is often determined through scores on test or grades in school, which is okay but not ideal. Schools teach students skills that are considered important to succeed in life such as math, science and a good knowledge of our history and language. These things are important but I think what people really need to succeed is experience. People to need to see what is going on in the world. Traveling the world and learning from uncommon sources is essential in my opinion. School does a good job at preparing students for the future but people need to see the world for themselves. It is very common for students in europe to travel between grade school and college. A formal education doesn't necessarily get in the way of one's intelligence but I think that it may make someone naive to the world around them. In the US, it is not as common to take a year off because it is considered lazy. This is where I think a formal education inhibits one's intelligence. Many kids go straight to college before experiencing the world for themselves, if they travel at all, and don't apply the skills they learn to the world around them. The education students get in college will mean a lot more if they have a good amount of life experiences first. I think that it is important to travel and learn from other sources than a school teacher.
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J-tron
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on a lot of points, such as formal education inhibiting our exploration of the world. I am not sure which question you were answering but your post made me interested in how the internet fits into all this for you. Do you think that the internet can give people experience? Or do you think that it can also inhibit us from seeking what is right in front of us?
J-tron,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that "what people really need to succeed is experience". In addition to the content of any particular course (or maybe despite it), schools provide the structure and framework through which we all learn habits of mind and the skills to be human. Only through experiences do we get the chance to practice and develop these skills.
You are correct in stating that "people need to see what is going on in the world." To tag onto Beston's comment, do you think that "traveling" and "experiencing" the world vicariously through the Internet will replace the physical activities? Do you think some people do this? What is lost and what is gained by watching a video on say, Yellowstone National Park in the winter?
Your post seems to imply that you are thinking of taking some time off from your formal education between CRMS and whatever comes next for you. If so, what adventures have you begun to germinate?