Skill or concept: What’s more important?
Skill or concept: What’s more important?
‘Skills’ and ‘Concept’, the two simple words often result in a debate among experts. Some participants argue that it is not possible to impart skills whether they are cross-disciplinary or interdisciplinary skills separately from conceptual understanding, while others argue that skills required in today’s world don’t depend on concept. They also argue that these skills are under-prioritized in educational institutions. Do you feel skills should be given more importance in this competitive world? Let us debate on the topic, Skill or concept: What’s more important?
Skills
- Concept do not result in effective leadership. The ability to communicate well, both verbal and written, is a critical managerial skill that forms strong foundation of an effective leadership.
- The creative careers like acting, singing, writing etc are not based on concept. They require creativity, curiosity, artistry, innovation, imagination and personal expression skills.
- Concepts fail if they are not supported by skills like self-direction, planning, self-discipline, perseverance, adaptability and initiative. These are the main factors contributing to success.
- When it comes to a profession like teaching, teachers are required to possess pedagogical skills in the absence of which they will fail to share their conceptual knowledge.
- In today’s world, knowledge and information are increasing at an astronomical rate that people cannot learn everything. For this reason, students require adaptable skills that they can apply in all areas of life.
Concept
- In the absence of strong subject knowledge, a person can never generate skills. It is the concept that forms foundation for skills.
- Cross-disciplinary skills are an integral part of conceptual understanding, for instance, students can’t learn to write well if there are no facts, principles, ideas and philosophies to write about.
- When it comes to teaching profession or even corporate jobs, it is the concept that is required to express skills. If there is no concept, what will professionals deliver?
- Even in the creative and artistic world, people have to undergo formal training to become a part of competitive industry.
- Skills are always hidden within the people. But it alone doesn’t make an individual successful. It is recognized only when it is highlighted by conceptual understanding.
Conclusion
The basic conclusion of debate is skills and concepts are correlated to each other. Concept necessarily is not the formal education, but is about having subject knowledge which is must to represent skills. The educational system need to focus on skills along with concept. The skills taught should be able to meet the specific demands that students need to face when they enter in a competitive, information-age, complex, knowledge-based, technology-driven economy.
Discussion
- RE: Skill or concept: What’s more important?/debate/ for motion -BHAWANI SINGH SHEKHAWAT (08/22/17)
- Friends I am totally disagree with the notion that skill is more important than concept. I would like to share an old fable about a skillful monkey who was very skillful in handling a sword. And the king was so impressed by the skill that he appointed the monkey as his bodyguard. The monkey was so agile that nobody could touch the king. One night when the king was fast asleep, a housefly sat on his nose. And needless to say what did the skillful monkey do. He cut the king in multiple pieces.
Friends we cannot develop a skill without the basis of a concept. In the absence of strong subject knowledge, a person can never generate skills. It is the concept that forms foundation for skills. It was impossible to refine the petroleum without knowing the concept of chemical behavior of hydrocarbons. We cannot dream to set foot on moon or Mars without the propelling concepts and concept of relativity. We still would be living in a barbarous civilization if we do not develop the various concepts in science, economics, social-engineering and genetic engineering. I would like to ask my worthy friends that mesons are so skillful in building massive mansions , why one should get degrees in architect. Why skillful compounders and nurses are not authorized to prescribe medicines. Why don’t mechanics design a car.
Friends, in fact what we are doing in schools. When it comes to teaching profession or even corporate jobs, it is the concept that is required to express skills. If there is no concept, what will professionals deliver? Cross-disciplinary skills are an integral part of conceptual understanding, for instance, students can’t learn to write well if there are no facts, principles, ideas and philosophies to write about. And same in the corporate. And that’s why salesmen don’t decide the market policies. From a long, We are accustomed to do business in traditional way. But you see what happened after the evolution of concept of mall culture and online shopping.
Can you say Bill Gates a skillful? Can we say Mark Jukarburg a skillful? Warren Buffet or Ajeem Premji or Krishnamuties or Tata’s or Ambanis, are they skillful? No dears, their concepts in their fields are clear and that’s why they are what they are.
Dear friends you know our skillful neighbor always keep on trying to counterfeited currency in a huge amount. But only the concept of plastic money and e-transaction can save our economy from the skillful enemies. These new concepts not only boost our economy but changing our lifestyle also.
Dear friends, If skill would be so important than concept, entire Bhagwat Geeta would not be happened. Arjuna was so skillful in archery but what happened. He refused to fight. Krishna had to preach whole 18 chapters of Bhagwat Geeta to transform Arjuna to fight for the righteousness. Think what would be the plight of Krishna after 18 chapters if Arjuna said ok now I am skillful enough. I have learnt all question answers. Ask me what do you want to ask now? I will answer. But you see, in 11th chapter Krishna shows his extended form to Arjuna and the concept was clear to him – SAB JANM MUJHI SE PATE HAI SAB LAUT MUJHI ME AATE HAI-- and he gets ready for the fight for righteousness, for the truth, against the evil.
Skillful means machines. Machines are so skillful. A computer can count skillfully. But friends keep in mind a computer can explain the chemical formula of H2O very thoroughly. It can visualize and explain the atomic bonding of hydrogen and oxygen but it cannot quench the thirst of a human being.
If you keep the concept apart, at once you will find a glitch in the mechanism of the developing society. Without the concept of combustion we still would be living in stone-age getting fire by rubbing stones.
In the absence of strong subject knowledge, a person can never generate skills. It is the concept that forms foundation for skills.
Dear friends, last but not least, I would like the say that being skillful is being stagnant. There is no futuristic approach in being skillful whereas concept is always future oriented. Without new concept we cannot face the upcoming challenges and meet the goal of this kaleidoscopic world.
- RE: Skill or concept: What’s more important? -chirag rastogi (10/06/15)
- In today's world skills and concept should go together, both are equally important for success, concepts makes you stable and skills leads you to achieve big and to earn the competitive advantage.Concepts secures knowledge and skills are required to deliver them.
- RE: Skill or concept: What’s more important? -Sumit S Sengar (03/10/15)
- I think both are some how related to each other because if we are skilled enough then we can understand the concept because a carpenter can't understand the concept of website development because he is not having those skills so first he needs those skill to understand the concept. And even you have developed your skills than you can also understand the concept of share market because you developed business skills and due this you have now sense to understand the concept. Even sometime we can say that if you have good knowledge of concept then we proof our self skilled.
I think skill is more important than concept because a skilled person can generate his own concept of doing something different which can hit the market.
- RE: Skill or concept: What’s more important? -Sunaina (03/08/15)
- Skill and concept the two words are different in meaning different in the number of letters composing them but both cannot go without each other....The first and the foremost thing is the concept which the person must have to reflect his skill in a proper manner..even if u have concept and do not have skill that wont work out at some places like interviews..concept can be built but few skills are inbuilt which makes the differences between people or person having similar concepts..but with the passage of time both concept and few skills which are unbuilt can be built up..and one can acheive excellence in their life with this two pillars..
- RE: Skill or concept: What’s more important? -dhillon (03/07/15)
- Skill n concept both go hand in hand..skill without having conceptual knowledge would not b able to survive fr a long tym...by learning concept of a alphabet a person may nt b successful in implemntng it wdout hvng d skill of how to use it...another example is singing..it z majorly a skill oriented field bt even then it needs basic concept understanding of its sur n taal...so in a nutshell both skill n concept r needed to b masters of any zone.
- RE: Skill or concept: What’s more important? -gs (03/06/15)
- Skill is nothing without the concept. One can;t be skillful without grasping the concept. To represent yourself as a skillful person, you need to understand the concept well. Then after understanding it we need to apply the concept in a practical manner. Skills deal with the practicality, where concept gives us the power to judge about it's correctness. So, we can't be skillful without knowing the concept or vice versa.
On the other hand if you want to know only the concept, you can go with it, without having the skill to represent your understanding about it. So for concepts you don't need to have a very good base at skills, but the opposite is mandatory - RE: Skill or concept: What’s more important? -Ashish (03/06/15)
- Skill is nothing without the concept. One can;t be skillful without grasping the concept. To represent yourself as a skillful person, you need to understand the concept well. Then after understanding it we need to apply the concept in a practical manner. Skills deal with the practicality, where concept gives us the power to judge about it's correctness. So, we can't be skillful without knowing the concept or vice versa.
On the other hand if you want to know only the concept, you can go with it, without having the skill to represent your understanding about it. So for concepts you don't need to have a very good base at skills, but the opposite is mandatory. - RE: Skill or concept: What’s more important? -Deepa Kaushik (03/06/15)
- Skill and concept is like two sides of the coin. One remain incomplete without the other. The “concept” comes by the understanding. This could be taught and inculcated in a person through the stepwise training. On the other hand, “skill” is the in-born talent. A talent is the special ability of the individual which cannot be incorporated by any means.
When we come to a discussion between skill and concept, on a narrow verge we can say that , something is better than nothing. The skilled person without the basic concept on the background would end up delivering the incorrect details. Instead of inefficacy, it would result in irrelevant and incorrect submission of the task. Whereas, the person with the understanding of the concept but lack of the required skills, would deliver the work in the correct format with least efficacy. The work might not be up to the mark, but the same would not be incorrect as per the policies and requirements. With these minor details, we can have the upper hand for the conceptual over the skilled personals.
When it comes to the choice of people, it would definitely a combination of skill and concept that could yield the output as required. The person with good knowledge of the concept and with the aptitude of implementing his knowledge through his skills, could deliver and add on to the productivity of the organization. Hence, on a precise note, both skill and concept need to be balanced for an efficient result.
