With the current state of the world, I believe that whether education should be primarily theoretical or if it should be primarily practical should be pretty important. While both are a need of for our or other’s education systems, we HAVE to strike a balance between the two or slightly favor practical skills unless there would be consequences.
Theoretical knowledge puts concrete foundations for understanding hard concepts, increasing critical thinking and growing innovationlike a tree. Subjects like mathematics, physics and history give students a broad worldview and the ability to think on paper. However, this knowledge stays on paper unless acted upon by real life contexts.
This is where we need practical skills. To make learning more enjoyable and actually remember theoreticals, we need practical skills. Through internships and labs students experience the application of what they had learned in real life. This not only to remember what they had learned, but to turn magic classroom words into real life applications. It greatly improves problem solving skills, boosts confidence, and prepares students for the work environment. For instance, even though medical students learn anatomy, they still need real experience with patients to truly understand the topics at hand.
Ideally, education systems should combine these skills. Relying too heavily on theory can lead to adults who may struggle to adapt in professional environments. On the other hand, focusing only on practical skills without a good theoretical knowledge can limit innovation.
In conclusion, neither theoretical nor practical knowledge is more important in isolation—they should be complementary with each other in the system. An effective education system that blends both in, would be teaching students not just to know, but also to understand and apply. This is how I believe real education would happen.