PERSONAL EXPERIENCE IS THE BEST TEACHER; YES, BUT HE IS ALSO AN HARD ONE

   EXPERIENCE can be defined as the events and activities of which one is cognizant, the collection of this activities from which individual and groups may gather knowledge, skills, opinions etc and the knowledge thus gathered. And personal means pertaining to an individual hence personal experience is the sumtotal of all the knowledge gathered by an individual through activities in which he/she engages in.
   Common sense says that experience is the best teacher. Indeed, the lessons from experience are powerful, the more painful the stronger the lesson.  If we face a risk
frequently, and experience the painful consequences of bad decisions, we quickly learn and adapt to change our behavior. If we get burned every time we touch a hot pan, we quickly learn not to touch hot pans anymore, to use an oven mitt and be careful. The association of pain with hot pans is strong and lasting in our minds.
   Though this activities have lasting touches in our brain, there are times when we shouldn't leave by experience for although its the best teacher, sometimes he teaches the wrong lessons. For instance a major risk happen rarely and if we only face this risk once in a life and escape unscathed, experience teaches us that a rare risk like this is not worth worrying about, that everything will be okay. Another instance where experience might teach us wrong lesson is if a group of people were informed that a terrorist group is heading towards their was to commit an onslaught in such their villages, and this people decides to quit their homes but let me say fortunately the terrorist never came. The residents of such village might get disarrayed by the fact that they have wasted their time packing and if on another time the same announcement is made most villager might stay back because of the fact that in their first experience the terrorist did come and this might not be so on the second experience.
   Secondly experience sometimes might be an hard teacher I.e it might not give room for you to even put the knowledge gained from the experience into use. Some experience might kill you and some can disable you for instance a great warrior was told about the lions Den, and this warrior decide to hunt down but during the hunting he made so mistake and the lion killed. The lessons he learnt from his mistake is of no use to him again because he is already dead. Likewise if a man was given a 1 time rare opportunity to lead an army against an enemy ... He is not provided the time to lead the war with only the experience gained from the was. Anyone who does it is just like a man who built a house of straw beside a fire.
   Rather than believing that personal experience is the sole source of knowledge, my dear readers I urge you to know that it is not so for sometimes the teaching in our classrooms, churches, mosque etc are better of listening tho for some experience will kill you and sometimes experience teaches us wrong lessons.
   Sometimes we don't have to wait to be thought by out own experience but by the experience because there is a Yoruba adage which says ogbon ologbon lafin Shari kogbon I.e human gain experience through the wisdom and experience of others
   IN conclusion, never wait to be thought by experience for you can be a step ahead of him by thorough learning by books, lectures and communication and the experience of others.