I'm practicing times essays for the CLEP college comp exam. How is this one? I feel as though my second supporting paragraph is a bit weak but I couldn't come up with anything stronger to say.
The old saying 'experience is the best teacher' suggests to some people that they would benefit more from learning on the job or in the world than from continuing their formal education in school or classroom.
Write an essay in which you discuss the relative values of experiential and academic learning. Support your view...
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Some people argue that "experience is the best teacher" while others are certain that formal education will get you the furthest in life. Experience-based learning is a very valuable tool and teaches many important skills needed to succeed throughout life as a growing person. Likewise, academics teache the skills needed to be successful at a well-paying job, and pave the way for further success through experience-based learning. An illiterate person will not be of any help in the workplace, and an unexperienced wife will not make a good mother. Therefore it is a balance of both styles of learning which will make a person the most successful.
Experience is a wonderful teacher. If for example, you look at the various US presidents throughout history it is easy to see that what each one experienced while in office helped to shape the nation over the years. The lessons learned by one president impacted the next president and affected what he did. No amount of academics could have prepared George Washington for what he experienced as first president of the United States. Education prepared and taught him the skills and knowledge needed to be successful as president, but ultimately it was the real-life experiences that shaped Washington and changed the way he managed the country. Through his experiences, subsequent presidents learned a great deal about how to run the country wisely.
While experience may be a great teacher, there are some things that you will never learn by experience alone. Academics teach foundational subjects such as Math, Science, and English, and while it could be possible to learn such skills through other means, it would be very difficult to compete with those that learn through traditional methods. Moreover, learning in a traditional academic setting teaching valuable skills such as self-determination, motivation and perseverence. Learning through formal education is a very valuable experience in and of itself and will better prepare anyone for life outside of the classroom.
If you consider experience as a teacher, and the traditional academic style of learning, you will discover that both are very valuable to the learning experience. I learned the traditional academic subjects which prepared for life outside the classroom while my experience-based learning taught me skill such as cooking, money mangment, and personal saftey. Both experience-based learning and academic-based learning are equally important in developing into a well rounded, and competent person who will succeed in life.
In closing, if you consider both experience-based learning and academic-based learning you will discover that it is a balance of both that will result in the most well educated person. Experience alone will not teach you things like Math and English, but at the same time academic learning will not teach you how to manage a house or manage money. The skills needed to succeed in life are a balance of both experience and academic based learning. The most successful person will be the one who can find the right balance of both styles of learning and enjoy the process.
Experience-based learning is a very valuable tool and teaches many important skills needed to succeed throughout life as a growing person.
I would change this sentence around... You could say something like: "As a person grows, he will learn many skills through experience. This experience-based learning is a valuable tool that is necessary for success."
An illiterate person will not be of any help in the workplace, and an unexperienced wife will not make a good mother.
These statements are not true fact, and are not very supportive of your argument, I would explore different examples.
IfF or example, if you look atexamine the history ofvarious US presidents,throughout history it is easy to seeobvious that what each one experienced while in office helped to shape the nation over the years.
This sentence is a bit too long and wordy.
You did a nice job with fully answering the question, with good reason for your argument. I like the comparison to presidents, if anything, add more content that explain why the combo of school and life experience are so important. Good work! Good luck in school!
