Human Touch !

There is this constant self debate that I have regarding the merits of academic knowledge vs practical experience. Is it worth our while to push kids to do increasingly well in school tests and exams at the exclusion of all else?

In this connection I came across this rather interesting story............

Two friends, one a scientist and the other an executive were making their way, on a trek, through a heavily wooded portion of a forest, when with much rustling of leaves and heaving of thickets a dark and furry bear appeared. The friends and the bear froze, each paralyzed, with the appearance of the other. The two men, overcome with fright and rightly so, recovered first and scooted for their lives, with the bear rumbling along in their wake. After a while, the scientist panting heavily told his friend that, there is no point in running, because as per his calculation the bear will eventually overtake them. The executive, a man of some experience, does not break a stride and keeps running, even as he said that he does not have to outrun the bear, he just has to outrun, his friend to survive.

You can guess how this episode would have ended.

The point is, much of success, in life comes from being alert to our environment or in terms of OB, being 'Open to Experience'.I'm afraid, with our over emphasis on class room learning, we are destroying that 'openness' and placing kids at a disadvantage.

While academic knowledge is important, is it the only knowledge that we need to have to navigate complex jobs and an even more complex world? It is probably the reason why you have mediocre students doing very well in jobs and vice versa...