Let me give you an example. If you were to become stuck in a situation in which you and the people with you were forced to rely on things you had learnt in the past, what would you rely on? Those test papers with 100% stamped on the front page of each and every one of them? Or those survival skills you learnt at Scouts all those years ago? The choice is easy to make now, but unfortunately, we usually find revising for tests much more important than going to extra-curricular clubs. But why? Because we all want to hit that top boundary. We all want to wave our papers high up in the air and scream out our achievements for the world to hear. We all want to go home and be bombarded with hugs and kisses from our proud parents and enjoy the gifts they promise us. But what we fail to realise, is that learning to cook and play sports can prove to be equally as important as our academic learning.
Because learning cannot be confined to a classroom. Books may be very informative, but they can’t teach us everything we need to know. Science. English. Maths. They’re extremely important topics that open up our minds, but they aren’t the only things we need to learn. People who become successful in their field did so by learning from real experiences. Bill Gates did not create Microsoft by simply reading a How-To book and following carefully-written instructions. He explored the different outcomes and learnt from his mistakes to create something spectacular in the end.
Speaking of mistakes, we all make them. But they’re not something we should be shameful of. It is pointless dismissing the mistakes you’ve made without learning from them. Instead, we should welcome them, as they are a great source of learning. After all, learning can come in all shapes and sizes.
Resilience also plays an important role in education. You can only become successful if you try again and again. It is highly unlikely that anybody would get everything right the first time (unless luck is on their side). It takes time, effort and practice to be able to fully understand something, and that in itself is an important life lesson that some people fail to understand.
You see, education doesn’t just come from attending school or getting good grades. It comes from exploring the world around you; learning from real-life experiences and the mistakes you’ve made and about standing back up every time you fall down. These are what make a good education.