Education, Academic Intelligence, and Personal Experience

Education, Academic Intelligence, and Personal Experience

Education not only revolves around academic intellect, but also around experiences one comes across in life. It is clearly evident that all living creatures, with human beings being the highest form, have evolved throughout history up until now, solely by learning or being educated in order to survive. For example, from the moment a baby comes into the world, the infant tries to acquaint him or herself to the environment maybe by touching or by struggling to see the world ahead. Even in today’s society, social status is not depended solely upon one’s economic wealth, but also by the capacity of one’s intellect. The same rules apply when thinking in terms of learning in the classroom. Because the idea of being “educated” means so many things, it is hard to distinguish who is the more intelligent individual when comparing to another bright human being. As the short story titled, “The Lesson,” by Toni Cade Bambara suggests, education comes in many forms; the two main forms everyone is familiar with, academic intelligence and knowledge gained from personal experiences or interactions with the rest of the world. But, the story favors knowledge being gained from personal experiences where one interacts with the world around him.

Some might think that the more money people have, the more intelligent they are. Many ignorant individuals believe that social status engenders one’s educational background. Yes, for some it is true, but not for all. Education can lead to success. Many people, especially students receive higher education in hopes of succeeding in the business world. But what is success? Is it the kind of success where one feels good...

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...Quite similarly, Miss Moore’s students realized that the world does not live much like “a democracy.” They commented that “equal chance to pursue happiness means an equal crack at the dough.” Some people ridiculously spend so much money on toys that can feed a family of six or seven. Miss Moore realizes that her students have learned an important lesson in their life without the use of school textbooks or classroom atmosphere.

In conclusion, education is so powerful that it does not only revolve around academic intellect, but also around experiences one has come across in life. As the students in “The Lesson” have learned an important lesson outside of the classroom about money and their value on human life, it clearly shows that experiences can light the bulb inside the brain more so than a teacher trying to teach its students in a classroom.