Learning Through Experience
In a few short weeks I’ll be graduating from college and entering the dreaded "real world." I feel like I have a lot left to learn. I’m okay with that though because that seems to be one of the most interesting things in life: learning. Hopefully I’ll never stop.
One lesson life has already taught me is that an awful lot of learning is done best through experience. I’ve learned more that way than I’ve learned in any classroom. Unfortunately that which one learns through experience rather than the classroom tends not to show up in résumés.
I know a number of students who do better than I academically but who can’t figure out how to plunge a clogged toilet. Obviously I’m biased, but I’d rather work with someone who can plunge a toilet than someone who wastes an hour panicking because the toilet clogged and they don’t have a clue what to do. I also find the fact that so many of my classmates literally don’t know how to plunge a toilet to be a sad testament to the helplessness of my generation.
I’ve decided that if I ever am in a position to be hiring people for a job I’m going to first make them pass a basic life skills test where they have to deal with day to day problems successfully. I’d take someone who could do this and shows an ability to learn how to do the job over someone who academically appears better but who can’t to figure out why water that has passed through an old floor is going to have changed colors.
One lesson life has already taught me is that an awful lot of learning is done best through experience. I’ve learned more that way than I’ve learned in any classroom. Unfortunately that which one learns through experience rather than the classroom tends not to show up in résumés.
I know a number of students who do better than I academically but who can’t figure out how to plunge a clogged toilet. Obviously I’m biased, but I’d rather work with someone who can plunge a toilet than someone who wastes an hour panicking because the toilet clogged and they don’t have a clue what to do. I also find the fact that so many of my classmates literally don’t know how to plunge a toilet to be a sad testament to the helplessness of my generation.
I’ve decided that if I ever am in a position to be hiring people for a job I’m going to first make them pass a basic life skills test where they have to deal with day to day problems successfully. I’d take someone who could do this and shows an ability to learn how to do the job over someone who academically appears better but who can’t to figure out why water that has passed through an old floor is going to have changed colors.
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