Are books the most important part of education, or are other modes of learning more important?

Without books can we be successful in life? Yes, we can. Books are printed pages placed inbetween a cover that are meant to educate and enlighten the reader. Books form thoughts and images in our minds that are sometimes useful, other time useless. I believe books are not the most important part of education, other forms such as television and environment studies are more helpful than books. I am not disputing the importance of books, it is good to read books once in a while but, the basis of human education should not be limited to books alone.

In most parts of the world, it is believed that studying books often, will make one successful in life a fact which has been disproved by many. If you look around you, you will see people who have made it in life without going to school or reading any form of book. For example, one of the richest men in the world, Bill Gates, dropped out of high school and today he his making it. He didn't drop out of school because he knew everything that he was being taught or because he knew more than the books. The reason he dropped out was because, he felt what he was being taught will not be useful to him. Today, he is responsible for the creation of Microsoft. Microsoft was not created by reading any book, it was created by the things he knew and things he saw around him.

Another reason why I believe that books are not important is because, they end up being useless. A child goes to school from birth till he graduates from college and when he gets into the real world, he find out that all he has been taught or reading does not apply in the real world. Books do not teach how to handle real life situations and challenges, they are only focused on things that are often times not real and if they are real then they are not important.

The life of a normal human being is a learning process, not something that can be read about. For example, a married man who has children, knows that it is his responsibility to take care of the children and make sure they become the best they can be. He didn't come to know about this by reading any book, he only knew about this because he has lived life and knows what life entails. The children will also grow up with the same undestanding because, they must have observed everything happening around them and know their left from their right, without the help of any book.

Books are important if you want to pass an exam, but after you pass the exam, what happens next? A book cannot tell you that because, it is not based on things that happen in the real world. People such as Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and Peter Wilson, didn't go to school or read any book to be where they are now, but, they are some of the most relevant people in our world. Everything we know or live by is based on what we learn on a day to day basis not on what we must have read. So, it is time to close those books, stand up and get ready to face life squarely, because, no book is going to tell you how to live your life.