Why Experience-Based Education Is the Need of the Hour

Education is much more than words and facts; it involves raising awareness and consciousness. Knowledge which is only read and not manifested in one's actions is no longer knowledge, it is turned into mere information. Human growth is influenced less by reading and more by experiencing. The major gist here is encapsulated in the saying: First practise, then teach. This is not a touchy, feely chant, but a natural, scientific, and philosophical method of learning.

Once education takes this direction, it ceases to be about exams only and becomes a way of living.

The human brain is ready to learn from birth. The child first looks, listens, feels, falls down, and then gets up again. No one learns to walk by merely reading a book; balance is obtained through endless tries.

Modern neuroscience also shows that learning from direct experience establishes stronger and more lasting brain connections. On the other hand, learning material by heart or only hearing it tends to be stored in the short term memory only.

Education, at a more profound level, is an awakening to the self. Knowledge should not only help understand the world outside but also enable one to find oneself.

A school that does not teach students how to be inquisitive simply loads them with answers. When a learner struggles with a problem, fails in an experiment, and tries again, they are not just learning a subject—they are developing patience, discernment, and self-discipline. This is the true aim of education: inner maturity.

Study gains greater significance after experience because books then connect with life. When a student has lived through a situation or experiment, every line in a textbook becomes meaningful. Words turn into interpretations of experience. That is why knowledge first practised lends depth and permanence to theories learned later.

There is no doubt about it now that each student is different. Some students may love science, while others may be interested in art, society or nature. When education ignores these differences, it is like denying personal uniqueness. Learning based on experience does not put students in a single mould; rather, it helps them discover their hidden talents.

This way, education emotionally resonates with the learners instead of merely speaking at them. If learning is only about getting good marks and passing exams then students will be under so much pressure and anxiety. On the other hand, if learning is a process of discovery, experimentation, and dialogue students' confidence will gain a rise naturally. They will not be afraid of mistakes as they will be aware that the latter are an essential part of learning already. Education of this kind strengthens the inside of a person and does not make them compete in an unhealthy manner.

A teacher too, in this case, changes his/her role. A teacher, nowadays, apart from informing the learners, is a fellow learner and shares the path with the students. Gradually, the teacher stops giving the ready, made answers and starts encouraging the students to ask questions; he/she moves from giving orders to guiding.

Teachers who become learners themselves can turn the classroom into a living space of curiosity instead of fear, dialogue instead of silence.

In education, there is a need for a combination of science, philosophy, and experience. Science by itself leads to learning becoming a mere matter of mechanics; philosophy by itself may cause it to be disconnected from practice; emotion by itself can make it unstable. Experience is a means of uniting all three and thus making education holistic. Such education results in individuals who have the ability to think clearly, have sensitive feelings and behave responsibly.

One who is merely a storehouse of information can be clever, but not wise. Wisdom is the result of knowledge that has been tried and tested in real life. Experience teaches one the boundaries, failure brings humility, and success maintains restraint. This balance prevents both self-centredness and loss of individuality in the crowd.

Ultimately, education cannot be confined to employment alone. Livelihood matters, but the final goal of education is the development of vision—a vision that distinguishes right from wrong, looks beyond short-term gains to long-term consequences, and sees knowledge not as power, but as service.

“First practise, then teach” captures this very vision. When experience becomes the seed and study its expansion, education makes individuals not only skilled, but also discerning. This is the true nature of education—emerging from life, flowing back into life, and giving life its meaning.