This question reminds me of a quote, Experience is the best “teacher”. The most important, and sometimes the hardest, lessons we learn in life are coming from one’s participation in many various situations. ‘You can learn from books’ is a contradiction.
Learning from books about formal education is valuable. It’s in schools that we learn the information we need to function in our society. We learn how to speak, write, and understand mathematical equations. This is the only information that we need to live in our communities.
Nevertheless, I think that the most important lessons never can be taught from books; only experiences can tell us what is good or bad. No one can teach us how to get along with others or how to have self-respect. Maybe someone can offer advice, but it won’t be helpful unless one decides by oneself. As we grow up from children to teenagers, no one can teach us how to deal with peer pressure. As we leave adolescence behind and enter adult life, no one can teach us how to fall in love and get married.
This shouldn’t stop us from looking for guidelines along the way. Teachers and parents are valuable sources of advice when we’re young. As we enter into new stages in our lives, the advice we receive from them is very helpful because they have experienced so much, but experiencing our own triumphs and disasters is really the only way to learn how to deal with life. |