DISCLAIMER: This article in no way is meant to demean mentors/teachers. It is simply one of the many perspectives pertaining to the current education system, and how essential Life Skills are sometimes neglected.

The single best investment you can make in life is in yourself.

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We live at a juncture in human history, known as the Information Age, where we find answers to any question we can fathom. From finding sample papers to study for that entrance exam to checking whether that piece of hardware is cheap online.

We check whether our phone is running the latest Andriod/iOS, if we installed that amazing new Star Wars game, or whether our Antivirus really knows what its doing. However, have we onced paused and taken a long, hard look at our syllabus? Have we checked whether our education system actually prepares us for the present, much less the future? We strive to get an ‘A’ on that Calculus test, but do we know how to do our taxes? We pay the education board and schools so much, but have they taught us Banking, or how to apply for a government ID?

The Issue:

There exists a gap between our academic endeavours and what we are expected to do on a day to day basis. Which is when the average person starts Googling stuff and searching for tutorials on Youtube. There is practically so much information and resouces availible at our fingertips, that it becomes possible to learn any skill known to mankind. And yet, we’re stuck behind a two feet tall stack of books with a disected frog in some remote corner.

As most conventional institutes of education follow a predefined pattern of learning and education, it becomes hard for a growing individual to adapt to the new fields and skills that come up in the real world. This scenario raises the need for individuals to find alternative sources of learning for certain commonly required skills. The issue here, therefore, seems to be the static nature of education and the education system which claims to prepare us for a dynamic world.

The Result:

This trend leads to more and more individuals either dropping out of conventional educational institutes, or not valuing them at all. At this point Conventional Educational Institutes become analogous to “middle men” in the market, whose value slowly decreases, since people want direct and more economical ways to access products and services.

The Solution:

In recent times, more and more institutes and centers of learning have given emphasis to Practical Education, Co-operative Learning, and Internships. This is no doubt a step in the right direction and allows learners to realize, understand, and adapt to “the real world.”

Today’s quorum demands a more holistic approach to education, which includes not only academics but facets of self development as well.

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