Education
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Experience is a very good teacher, but it is not necessarily the best one. Experience teaches us lessons that stay with us our entire lives, but we often pay a very high price for them. A child who gets bitten by a wild animal learns to stay away from them, but he had to suffer to learn that lesson. A person who makes a stupid investment learns to be more careful with money, but the price of wisdom is very high. However, there is a less expensive way to learn these same lessons. Years ago, a smart man said that only fools need to learn from experience. Wise men, he said, learn from the experiences of others. This is what education does. It teaches us, without pain, the lessons that others learned.
Education allows us to share the experiences of millions of people in many countries. The lessons they suffered to learn, we are given for free. The knowledge that made them richer, stronger, and happier, is ours for the taking. Education makes it possible to stand on the shoulders of giants and see the world through their eyes. It allows us to advance more quickly to our goals because we do not have to repeat their mistakes.
Education is fuel. Used properly, it can power us to success and prosperity. But a great deal depends on where individuals received their education and the quality of education they received. I have attended two types of public schools in my life. One was in Russia where I was born. The other was in America where I reside right now. Education in Russia is both stronger and weaker than in America. In Russia, the material is taught straight to the point and quickly and students are expected to learn it word for word. It is very simple – either students learn the material or they are left back. In America, material is taught more carefully and patiently. Starting in grade school and all the way through to college, the material is presented in smaller pieces and the students are allowed to digest each piece slowly. Students that comprehend materials slower than others are given a second chance to learn it. The work in American schools is not as demanding, but American students are more comfortable questioning the material they are taught than are Russian students.
Not all education is equally