Practice Essay #6: Books vs Practical Experience

Question: Education comes not from books but from practical experience.  Explain what you think the above statement means.  Describe a specific situation in which books might educate students better than practical experience.  Discuss what you think determines when practical experience provides a better education than books do.

Answer: 
A lot of the information and facts that we obtain through school and the countless number of books that was used during those school years are soon forgotten in a matter of months or years. Retention of all those materials is nearly impossible. Practical experience, on the other hand, is a better educator or teacher than books as suggested by the statement. It is when we get first-hand experience that the importance of the information presented can be seen and reinforced. Education through practical experience, thus, would carry more weight and will be remembered more long-term. Practical experience is also a better educator because the information in books might not be all inclusive and might be outdated.

There are, however, many situations in which books are better at providing an education as opposed to practical experience. This is especially true when practical experience is not applicable or when the information presented is only theoretical. In such case, getting hands-on experience would be either impossible or impractical. Some examples of such situations include astronomy, physic concepts, and microbiology. While it might be possible for some to actually go into space to study things on a more up-close and personal experience, the majority of people, however, will never have that opportunity and so must rely on books for their source of information.

Practical experience is usually a better educator than books. When information is merely obtained from reading books, the retention of all that material that was presented will soon be forgotten. It is when that information is seen through practical experience does it get reinforced and the importance of it seen which allows for better learning and retention. There are certain situations where practical experience is not applicable or is impractical. In such cases, books would be a better source for the information. The determining factors to be looked at in deciding whether practical experience is a better at providing an education than books would be whether practical experience is feasible.