Sample Argumentative Essay
Skills vs. Knowledge in Education
Education systems all over the world are based on the idea that students get and remember
information from teachers and books. These systems test this knowledge with standardized
tests which compare students to each-other. They only test the kind of information which is
possible to measure in tests. The goal is gaining information, not developing skills by which to
use and make information. Unlike the old style of education where people remembered things
in order to pass tests and get higher scores than other students, the modern world calls for a
new kind of education in which the focus is deep understanding, creativity, and information
management skills.
Most education systems in the world are designed to make students remember things. One
reason is that schools feel the need to compare students. They do this by giving tests. They
want to be able to give grades and decide which students are smart and which are not. They
function as a sorting mechanism for society. From the earliest grades, students are put on
tracks that will decide their futures. Another reason schools like to make students remember
things is that by doing so they will be able to test their knowledge and determine if they
remember or not. They believe that if students remember things it is the same as
understanding those things. Schools also like to impart knowledge because in this way,
although students can have different individual skills, they can all have the same knowledge.
Einstein said “Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited.
Imagination encircles the world” (Needle, 2007). All the knowledge in the world is useless
unless you are able to use information in creative ways. Knowledge is what other people have
Copyright 2010 Jonan Donaldson created. Understanding is all about what you think about
something. Everybody sees, hears, feels, and thinks differently. No two people in the world
have the same understanding of the same thing. It is impossible to give tests on a point of
view. Because of this, tests are illogical. The only reason tests exist is to label students as
“smart” or “stupid.” There are many kinds of intelligence, however. One of the most famous
researchers in the field of intelligence, Gardner, found at least seven different kinds of
intelligence (Gardner, 1999). Intelligence and understanding are related. Unfortunately, tests
only measure one type of intelligence.
In the modern world skills are more important than knowledge. If a person knows many
facts, it is impressive, but not very useful. It is of much greater importance to be able to find
information quickly, organize that information, analyze and understand the main ideas, put
different pieces of information together (synthesize), and create new information. Together
these skills make what we call information management and innovation, the skills which are
most desired in the business world.
Most people in the world believe that education is about remembering things to take tests
which measure one’s performance against other people who have studied the same
information. However, this idea no longer matches the reality of the modern world in which
knowledge is less important than creativity and deep understanding. To be successful in the
age of technology, education must focus on helping students gain information management
and innovation skills.
To conclude, educating children to be unique individuals is an essential step to form our
future. The current era governs how people should perceive and deal with information.
Governments must pay more attention towards teaching children the skills of the twenty first
century as well as discarding memorizing information.
