Moonlight leaking through leaves lights path of dark,
fir leaves rustling with breeze breaks hush of park,
under moonlight one shares stories of old,
and another listens to what was told.
Solar shares his experience with Lunar, speaking of lack of practical knowledge.
Solar: Speaking of lack of practical knowledge, it reminds me of one of my students, who was recognized as Theory Master, Miss Theory.
Lunar: Miss Theory?
Solar: Miss Theory was recognized as Theory Master.
Nothing is more pleasant to her than exploring at library.
Stay hungry, stay thirty,
she's gonna read for a whole day to meet with her hunger and thirst of her spirits.
That is why, she knows a lot of theoretical knowledge from textbook, which is yet to be examined and transformed from theoretical knowledge to practical knowledge.
Lunar: She learned something through reading, didn't she?
Solar: Reading thousands and thousands of books makes one sophisticated and wise, but it doesn't make one an expert in a specific area.
It takes years of experiences to examine her theoretical knowledge, which might have been out-of-date, or unsuitable for some specific situations.
Lunar: What kind of books did she read at the library?
Solar: Geography, arithmetic, history, grammar and novels.
At a glance, she can distinguish China from Arizona.
If one got lost in the night. Such knowledge is valuable.
Lunar: What kind of subject is Geography?
Solar: Geography is a subject that bridges nature science and social science.
At its core, it's a study of place, space and the relationships between people and their environments.
Lunar: What kind of person she will be through reading Geography?
Solar: Geographer.
Lunar: What is a geographer?
Solar: Geographer is a person who knows all locations of all rivers, mountains, towns, seas, and deserts.
Lunar: Can she be a geographer?
Solar: Nothing is impossible, it means she is possible.
Lunar: If she was asked has this planet any rivers, what might she answer?
Solar: I couldn't tell you. I mean, she might answer that I couldn't tell you.
Lunar: Has it any mountains?
Solar: I couldn't tell you.
Lunar: And towns, and seas, and deserts?
Solar: I couldn't tell you that, either.
Lunar: But she is a geographer.
Solar: Exactly!
But she is not an explorer.
She knows all locations of all rivers, mountains, towns, seas, and deserts.
But she knows that from textbooks or explorers.
As a geographer, her job is meeting explorers, writing their experiences down, and examining whether it's true or not.
Lunar: How could she examine whether it's true or not? One goes to see it?
Solar: No. That would be too complicated. But one requires explorers to furnish proofs.
For example, if the discovery in the question is that of a large mountain, one requires that large stones be brought back from it.
If the discovery in the question is that of a long river, one requires that large fishes be brought back from it.
If the discovery in the question is that a vast desert, one requires that large dunes be brought back from it.
Lunar: She can't tell flowers either, can she?
Solar: Certainly. She couldn't tell that, either.
Geography is a subject that deals with the matters of consequences.
There's not a single geographer who would record flowers.
She knows all locations of all rivers, mountains, towns, seas and deserts from books.
But there's no way to know all flowers which are not in her books.
Lunar: Why wouldn't geographers record flowers?
Solar: The locations of all rivers, mountains, towns, seas and deserts are eternal, and that wouldn't easily change for a long time.
The flowers are ephemeral,
Lunar: What does that mean ephemeral?
Solar: That means the flowers are in danger of speedy disappearance.
Lunar: Let's put paid to it.
Tell me why do students lack of practical knowledge?
Solar: The reasons are theory-heavy curriculum, the test mentality, limited exposure, over-reliance on parents, fear of failure, and lack of mentorship.
Lunar: Theory-heavy curriculum?
Solar: Many courses focus on theories, concepts and textbooks rather than application. Students might know many theories, but know little about application.
Lunar: The test mentality?
Solar: The school system rewards memorization and cramming for exames. Students become experts at passing examines but struggle to apply that knowledge in real life.
Lunar: Limited exposure?
Solar: Internships and part-time jobs aren't accessible. Students struggle with heavy workloads, leaving no time for gaining practical experience.
Lunar: Over-reliance on parents?
Solar: When parents are handling with everything for them, students arrive in the real world feeling unprepared.
Lunar: Trying and failing is better than not trying at all. But fear of failure makes them choose not trying at all to protect their self-esteem.
Lack of mentorship requires a mentor who can guide them to gain practical experience.
As a mentor, what did you recommend to gain practical experience?
Solar: They can seek internships and part-time jobs to gain practical knowledge;
they can get involved on campus to participate in campus activities;
they can take on adulting tasks to cook a meal on their own;
they can do project outside of class to write a novel;
they can conduct informational interviews to ask for practical knowledge;
they can find a mentor who can guide them to learn practical knowledge;
they can embrace failure as a teacher to learn from failures.
Lunar: Tell me Miss Theory's essay, please.
Solar: My desire is to write a bestseller in this year, but my chief trouble is no audience, who would read my book and collect it at the library.
I have read thousands and thousands of works, knowing what kind of book that sells, and what kind of book that might be covered in dust.
I wrote down the first sentence, and then finished my first chapter.
I wrote one chapter in a day, and a month later my work is worth reading, prepared to be opened by the audience at the platform.
It is unexpected that having no audience discourages my faith, and having no income almost burns my writing dream into the ground.
Three years later, with three years of writing experience, I'm able to attract audiences with the first three chapters,
and make sure they can keep reading my works with continuous conflicts. Miss Theory.