In today’s age of fierce
competition, parents are more focused and concerned about their child’s
education than ever before.
But how do you define education?
Is it just about burdening students with bookish knowledge? or driving them to
rote study without any understanding? or attaining high grades the only
objective of education? For sure, your
answer will be “None of the above”.
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| International School Gurgaon |
The aim of education is to learn
and attain skills to lead a fulfilled life ever after. Learning helps mould an
individual’s character and bring out the best in him/her thereby readying him for
real life situations. Learning is a process related to different ways of gaining
knowledge and acquiring skills.
But the topic of debate for
parents, students and educators alike, in today’s times is what type of
education we should emphasize more on – theoretical knowledge or practical
skills? Which out of these two is more benefiting for the student and what
should we value more? While some favour the old-age theoretical ways, many
others may believe that practical education must be given more importance as it
teaches more effectively making the student understand and retain the concept
better.
We enter this debate with the
basic point that a person’s competence is described by both his knowledge as
well as skills. While knowledge is the process of learning concepts, principles
and information regarding a particular subject(s) through books, media,
encyclopedias, academic institutions and other sources; a skill refers to the
ability of using that knowledge and applying it in a context. But in real life what matters is not the
amount of practical experience or theoretical background that an individual
has. What matters is how much an individual is able to effectively deal with
the realities around him. Theory and practical experience are complementary
means to that end.
Theoretical knowledge has its own
importance in learning. Theory teaches you through the experience of others. A
sound theoretical base is of utmost importance for gaining practical knowledge.
Anything done practically without theoretical knowledge backing it, can turn
dangerous at times. Theoretical knowledge explains the why factor at the back
of any situation and technique of working. A simple example of a student
preparing to become a doctor can explain this better. Nobody would accept or
allow a student to practice, even on a corpse, without a sound theoretical
understanding of the same.
We take the same example forward
to explain the importance of practical learning. Now this same medical student
who has learned a particular concept in theory is made to practice it on a
corpse to help him better understand how things actually look and work.
Further, after passing out of medical school, the new doctor initially assists
senior doctors to get a first-hand practical experience in the real domain.
Thus practical knowledge is important to understand how things actually work.
It is the tool of deeper understanding of the concepts through the act of doing
and personal experience. Especially in the professional education scenario
practical knowledge helps in the deep understanding of the concepts along with
the origin and the importance of the facts learned through theoretical
knowledge.
Both practical and theoretical learning
thus go hand in hand and each has their own importance. Both theoretical
knowledge and practical skills are necessary to master a field. So for a
complete learning experience one should gain both practical and theoretical
knowledge. And this is the mantra, the essence of new-age schools – to present
a curriculum that combines a theoretical background with a practical approach
to learning. The Paras World School, in sector 50, Gurgaon is one such school that
propagates active learning through their curriculum named ‘istreamm’ which is
designed by effecting 6 most constructive approaches for the total development
of children. Here, mentally active learning of ideas-and-skills occur through a
wide variety of thought-stimulating activities, ranging from theoretical learning
of ideas that are explained in a book, lecture or video; to learning the
practical way by discovery as in doing an experiment, or in design projects and
other kinds of problem solving. To know more about the school, its vision,
curriculum, faculty etc. please visit www.parasworldschool.com.
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