II. Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions.
The old belief was that you had to go to school to get educated, but there are plenty of people who have educated themselves outside of school and become successful. They followed their passion, educated themselves as they went along, and found success despite not actually going to a school where you sit down, learn from a teacher, and take tests.
I think that the first 12 years of education are critical. Primary and secondary education teaches you the basics, helps you get into a mindset of learning, exposes you to a variety of areas that you can pursue after school, and gives you some real world experience with socializing and working with other people.
All of those things are important, but after that, you can't rely on a school to really educate you in life. You can go to college and learn about whatever field you want to go into. But, that school education isn't going to give you the knowledge you need to really be successful in your career and your life.
For example, I have a friend who is an accountant. He hasn't finished all the courses in school that he needs to get his Bachelor's degree, but he has more knowledge and ability than anyone who has finished their courses in school that he works with. He reads up on what he needs to know as he works. He is passionate about what he does. He can figure stuff out that his fully-schooled peers can't. And he is a shining example of why going to school doesn't automatically mean you are more educated.
The point is that you can educate yourself in the real world. Obviously, there are some programs that you have to take if you want to be accepted into a specific kind of job. Even though you can educate yourself outside of school, many professions still require you to finish an education and have a piece of paper proving it so that you can get hired.
But, for many other things, you can educate yourself by doing things related to your career or passions. You can educate yourself online by taking courses, learning from experts, buying eBooks, and having discussions with like-minded people. You don't need a school to be educated in life. As Mark Twain said, “I have never let my schooling interfere with my education."
