What people learn from books surely is important; it gives us knowledge about a diverse range of things. However, this sort of knowledge is not applicable in any other way. On the other hand, the knowledge one gains from a real experience is not easily forgotten, and much more useful at the same time. That is why the best education comes within a form of experience, not digging books.
When I was in middle school, my friends and I went hiking on a very tall mountain. By the time we reached the top, we were desperately calling out for food. Unfortunately, as we had thrown everything edible away before climbing, to lessen the burden, we had to make food on the mountain top by ourselves. But there was one problem; the rice won't boil. We waited hours after hours for the pot with rice to boil, but it constantly disappointed us. FInally, a hiker passing by came and told us to put some heavy rocks on the cover of the pot. When we followed the advice from this experienced mountain climber, we could finally eat the rice.
Looking back, I cannot but wonder why none of us, with a sufficient number of science classes in which the teacher taught us how in high altitudes, it is hard to boil anything because of the pressure drop, could think of a simple way as putting a rock on the pot to increase the pressure to solve the problem. The painful experience at the mountain top really taught me well how hands-on experience is the best way to learn things.
Recent reports on human development say that only 30 percent of what people have in their brains is actually from texts, or books. The remaining 70 percent of what a brain contains is entirely up to the experiences - environments in childhood, things done as a kid, etc.. This fact shows how most of the "education" we receive in our lives actually is from the things we experience, and also shows how this form of education is the one that matters more than anything in terms of acquiring knowledge.
People vary in their opinions about which form of education is more important- books, or experiences. Of course, it will be too extreme to say that it's absolutely one thing or the other that really matters. However, judging from my own experience at the mountain top and the current reserach on human development, I'm strongly convinced that the education based on experience is more important than just factual inculcation into the brain, and that is where the emphasis of education should be on.