The Purpose of Education by Brandon

The Purpose of Education by Brandon - April 2015 Scholarship Essay

Education has three main purposes in my opinion. The first purpose is to better the individual’s intellect to become better socialized and prepared for work in their society. Its second purpose is to provide employment and payment for every government worker involved from construction to teaching. Its third main purpose is to increase the overall productivity and economic health of the country.

The largest incentive to education is the individual’s livelihood. By receiving high education, a higher standard of living can be achieved through high paying jobs. These jobs require high education to be eligible for hire. Beyond the empirical incentive to education for high paying jobs, in principle, some pursue education for the simple pleasure of obtaining knowledge. This pleasure is what drives the world to advancement. Through the provision of high education, humanity has prepared its finest to invent groundbreaking technology. (I.e. Einstein and Benjamin Franklin)

The second purpose of education is general employment and payment for every government worker involved. The institution requires a vast number of jobs. By preparing generations for work in their country, the institution provides that same work for numerous people. It has provided jobs for school board officials, teachers, maintenance workers, police officers, and construction workers. Without the institution of education, not only would high responsibility type jobs be eliminated, but many would lose jobs just from its absence.

The third purpose of education in my opinion is the general welfare of the country. Imagine a bridge is in need of being built over a river. The general public would hope that the people designing the bridge are competent enough to build it correctly to last and hold. This requires an education in engineering to obtain and execute this type of job. In fact no type of bridge would be built without an education on building bridges available. The cars that would go over the bridge wouldn't exist without an education to build and design them.

In another sense, education available to the population of a country has actually proven to reduce problems of fertility rates, birth and death rates, and crime rates. With this kind of evidence, a country has a large incentive to provide education to its populace for its general welfare.