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examinations vs experiences

--Examination is a fundamental approach in knowing student’s level of understanding in their studies but it’s impossible to predict their career success by using their examination results. However, lifetime experiences determine a person’s career success.


Universities are normally accepted as a higher learning institute that will provide its students with a certificate that would create their path to a successful career in their future. Basically it is understood that examinations are done in order to evaluate a student’s level of knowledge for the subjects studied in the university. In reality, this belief is unfortunately wrong. To rephrase, examinations are only a temporary evaluation of a student’s brain capacity to memorize what they have studied from their textbooks.
First of all we look at the format of examination usually done in universities. The basic format would be to have multiple choice questions, true or false, short essays or structured questions and lastly long essays. The first two formats are indeed just exactly testing a student’s ability to memorize facts taught by their lecturers. The structured and long essays would, in a minor percentage, predict a student’s logical thinking ability or how creative their mind thinks. However the predictability level is limited. This is because the questions are mostly asking about the subjects being learned and not about career development. Most students forget what they have learned for their examinations even after the semester break itself. This is because most of them never grab the essence of what is learned, they merely just memorize and answer. It’s undeniable that these questions could foresee the level of understanding in a certain area of their subjects but to predict their success in career it is quite impossible. Fact is there is no any other possible way to predict a student’s success in their career.
Career happens to be a lifelong experience. When graduates starts their career life, they need in depth understanding of what the particular job demands from them, plus they need lots of experience in order to constantly improve the quality of job. Actually a person needs to constantly collect experiences from the period they begin studying and working. As we can see here the keyword seems to be experience.Some people say life is the best teacher and often it is true. Actually the more older a person gets, the more expected and unexpected things would happens throughout their life in order for them to reach that desired wisdom at a certain point of age. Likely there is a theory called empiricism that means the view that experience, especially of the senses, is the only source of knowledge. Now this is a theory to ponder in this argument. So if we think for a second we can analyze that when we work it is impossible that we apply 100% of what we have learned in school and universities. Most probably we would apply 50% or less of it. Going to school or university is all about learning and getting to know the basics and details of something while the amount of experiences gained throughout the period a person starts to build their path to a successful career is priceless. Many people learn from mistakes in life that makes them to strive to make a difference and improve their value of job they have in their hand.
A classic example would be Abraham Lincoln, the 16th American President of the United States of America. During his time, Lincoln knew how to read and write but he never pursued learning in a higher institution nor did he ever sit for an examination. The man was a self –educated person and was smart enough to use his ability and ambitious character to rise rapidly in his political career.
As we can see a person can get promoted way faster with that experience they hold rather than the first class certificate they have obtained. Anyone can make big money with experience that teaches them great techniques of money making, but with the same certificate, you just get to have a nice roof on top of your head. Many fresh first class graduates are most of the time jobless or unable to look for a job position that suits their previous field of studies. Funny, but it's true.
To conclude, we should understand that examination is fundamental but experiences brings out the better person in anybody, turns people to be mature in decision making, develops a person’s structure and leads to a promising future.However knowledge from lifetime experiences would be a good teacher to oneself most of the time and even if it is communicable to others, only those who has experienced something learns the most from their own experience. Experiences are not read, it is felt by all senses of the human body.


so now come to think of it, can we just go to learning institutes, attend lectures & tutorials, educate ourselves, get a degree but minus the exams? ;)

posted by eye-catcher @ 3:21 AM