One problem that I have with the way that education is commonly thought of is that it has a factory model that really doesn’t take into account some of the deeper aspects of learning. The image that the current educational paradigm has is of students in an assembly line, who get education poured into them, and then end up as finished standardized products.
The problem with that model is that education in large part is about training people to feel and react in certain ways. For example, let’s take business communication. You can read a book about how to draft a business letter, but the important part is what goes through your head and your heart when you are sitting down in front of the computer. Like most people, I have a bit of shyness in writing, and there is always the “oh my god, I’m going to say something stupid” fear that goes in me, but part of education involves learning how to manage and mold those feelings and fears. That’s not going to happen easily in an assembly line.
This is why “being there” is important. You can read about telescopes, but until you try to sit down and use one, you are missing the feeling and the sensory input that makes up an education.
