The logic behind going to school is that the lessons to be learned within the four walls of a classroom would prepare a student for the real world. At least, that is the age old belief concerning the significance of school and academic excellence.
But does school really prepare you for life? For all the challenges and tribulations that reality has in store for the individual?
What is Truly out There?
Life throws some curve balls that are never anticipated by even the most comprehensive lesson plans and educational modules.
There will always be problems that are unexpected and too complicated that no mathematical equation or basic literature from school can solve. But the truth is there are lessons taught that can be merged, can be analyzed more deeply, and can be applied to these trials.
The answers may not be in the basic solutions applied to algebra equations or to essay editing assignments in literature readings. These answers may not be as blatant as most people expect. But the fact remains that students will pick up some insights and techniques from school training that will help them get through life’s real, bigger problems. A lot of people say that when students graduate from college and start working, they will come to realize those there complex trigonometry problems and the mind boggling theories from physics will have no place in real life professions.
At most, the basic arithmetic would come in handy. There is no need to solve for projectile motions when one is computing for the best sales strategies or the most effective business plans, but there will be room for basic addition, subtraction, and the like. In the same way that the highfalutin words from the English language will have no place in simple essay editing projects for corporate presentations. This is where the idea to drop out of school comes in. People start believing that there really is no need for formal education.
Bill Gates was a drop out and he is one of the most successful and richest men today. People begin looking up to this example. They begin to believe that although there will be bits and pieces in the academic curriculum that can truly be helpful in real life situations, there are more insignificant aspects in the academe: there are too many subjects taught in a span of so many years that turn out to be useless in the professional world.
It can be argued, however, that these people – those who believe that school is not necessary for one to face challenges of life – are missing the bigger picture. It can be said that the mathematical formula and the memorized poetry verses and scientific facts may not be what matters when one goes out into the real world – what matters is the technique, the patience, the habit, the discipline that a student learns to practice in school as they search for answers and get through examinations.
These are the qualities that will toughen them up and prepare them for the real world. In school, a student will learn not just academic lessons but experiences as well. They learn how to interact with their classmates and they learn how to deal with varying personalities, how to deal with different individuals.
They learn how to form relationships and how to best deal with problems that arise from such. Students learn how to approach problems concerning their studies both in and out of the classroom. Their development as an individual is enhanced by his or her experiences in school and from the environment that a school provides cannot be replicated by any other social or learning institution.
The dynamics involved in a school setup is unlike any other and it is truly a necessity that a person at least experiences how it is to be immersed in a school setting: to be exposed to fellow students, to meet instructors, to learn how to complete projects and ultimately learn.
Within a school setting, the student learns about his or her strengths and weaknesses best. The educational system provides students with areas within which to improve and the tools necessary for such improvement. There will be other ways to learn, of course. That is where the street smarts come in, but it cannot be denied that there will always be learning’s and experiences that can only be acquired in school and nowhere else. There may be a couple of success stories where a person achieves his or her goals triumphantly without the aid of a classroom, however these could well be considered as isolated cases.
There are far more successful anecdotes of entrepreneurs, businessmen, inventors, scientists, authors, and many others who have achieved their life goals primarily because of the knowledge and training they have acquired in the many years of solving mathematical problems, reading literary pieces, completing essay editing projects, solving scientific problems, etc.
Learning is, in a way, relative but generally speaking, it has long been tested and proven that those who have gone through school are far more prepared in facing life’s real challenges compared to those who have been home-schooled or did not have any formal education at all.
About the author: Jane Collins writes for several sites about aspects of education and those never-forgotten memories of those fun school and college days.
Photo credit: Heriberto Herrera