Education Does Not End With Graduation

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As thousands of fresh graduates heave a sigh of relief as they march down to receive their diplomas that seal the years of their formative education,reality holds the truth that Graduation is not the end but a beginning of a new chapter in life, precisely why the ceremony is called Commencement exercises. Oftentimes referred to by many as the finality of education, a closer analysis of the word would tell us that 'graduation" simply means the elevation of learning from one level to another. In reality, learning is a never-ending process, education does not end with the graduation ceremony. Graduation only marks the closing of an episode and the opening of another stage in life where grade school pupils move up a step higher to high school, where high school students graduate to college, and from college, to post graduate studies or for the majority, the real life. It is in real life that we consider the environment as our greatest teacher because it offers more than what our teachers and various pedagogues have to offer while we tread the harsh realities in life. Although education earned from school is a basic, it has a major weakness. A weakness that sticks on offering mere theories rather than preparing children to face life realistically. It remains my silent wish for schools to encourage the young ones to learn from life and keenly view teachings that have been passed on from one generation to the next if these are still applicable with recent situations. There are lessons we cannot find from the vast collections of books even in the world's largest libraries that only our lives can teach us. Note that learning from life is very different from the education and training that we get from the academe. No matter where one have studied or whether or not he finished formal studies, it remains a fact that we all learn from life and from our daily interactions no matter what our formative education has taught us. Various references like books, online informations, and movies may play a vital role in giving us perceptions of what a certain experience would be like, but it is only in life that we encounter and understand different emotions and how to deal with it. It is in life that we gain deeper understanding of what fear, resilience, kindness, anger, courage, or even love is. Life is filled with learning opportunities. Most often than not, we learn our lessons from the most challenging moments in our lives. we gain wisdom from living through life, learning when to give up or when to move on ahead. Learning the importance of family and friends would surely come in handy cruising through life. Let's take a look at many of the world's greatest minds and see that most of these personalities have not finished formal education or were not standouts in school but were able to etch their names in the annals of the world's history. Robert Fulton, the inventor of the Clermont steam boat, was not a brilliant scholar, but according to his teacher, his head was filled with original ideas formed by his observation around him, he barely even touched his books but he has progressed quite surprisingly. Meanwhile, the Father of modern Physics Albert Einstein, was marked a failure in life but whose name at present is synonymous to genius. Light bulb inventor Thomas Alva Edison only managed three months of formal schooling afterwhich he was sent home by his teacher with a note that says he was "unteachable." While theories help mold our perceptions, the teachings in life and reality help us mold our own theories. Maybe today's greatest scholars would beg to disagree with my viewpoint but for me this is real. So to the fresh graduates, kudos to you all and welcome to the real world. The academe has equipped you with a stack of theories, apply it but don't hold unto it longer than you should. Life has a lot to offer, explore and never stagnate, continue learning as you sail through this chapter. The cruise may not go smoothly as you'd like it to be , harsh winds and huge waves may get in your way but with stock knowledge and the will to move on, the compass of life would surely make your journey worthwhile.