Knowledge Isnt Enough Anymore?

Knowledge Isnt Enough Anymore?

There are many definitions of knowledge. One definition is “the facts and information acquired by a person through experience or education”. Another definition is “the theoretical or practical understanding of a subject”.So knowledge is evidently a good and necessary thing in today’s world.

Skill is also a good thing. A person who’s known as a “skilled” person or a “skillful” player is obviously the kind of person you’d like to have on your team.

There are many kinds of skills, Hard skills and Soft Skills. Hard skills are usually related to professional knowledge, tools, or techniques that allow us to work within our profession. Soft skills are the complete collection of our social, communication, and self-management behaviours. These are the skills that enable us to work effectively and “fit in” at the workplace.

Knowledge is like a description of the world, it’s more intangible. Skill is more directly connected to the world, it enables you to change the world in a real and meaningful way (O'Lochlainn, ***). Another difference between knowledge and skill is that while you can simply study to acquire knowledge, the only way to acquire a skill is to practice.

These two things arent incompatibleIn fact, they’re closely related. Knowledge is what you’re aware of, your understanding of how things work. In contrast, skill is your ability to use what you know to effect a real change in the outside. Being skillful imply a certain amount of knowledge

Lawrence "Larry" Summers, former president of Harvard, Treasury Secretary under President Clinton shared his recommendations necessary for education in "What You (Really) Need to Know," based upon a speech he gave for TNYT Schools for Tomorrow Conference.

Summers talks about the importance of being able to process and use information, not just "factual mastery"; the increased necessity of the ability to collaborate; a surprising perspective on foreign language learning; the essential skill of understanding and analyzing data, and cosmopolitanism.

Co-director of Harvard's Change Leadership Group, Dr. Tony Wagner, in his analysis of future industry needs and education readiness studies, has identified what he calls a "global achievement gap," which is the leap between what even the best schools are teaching, and the must-have skills of the future. Which are the following:

• Critical thinking and problem-solving

• Collaboration across networks and leading by influence

• Agility and adaptability

• Initiative and entrepreneurialism

• Effective oral and written communication

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