The Importance of Education by Kaitlyn

The Importance of Education by Kaitlyn - April 2015 Scholarship Essay

There are many ways that one can acquire an education. A person can attend schools and get a formal education. On the other hand, one can come from neighborhoods where getting an education means learning how to survive. Whatever education one is looking for, it will involve successes and/or failures, but most definitely will involve learning.

In our formal education system, we start off young with the understanding that what we learn this year will be built upon next year. In other words, we must walk before we run. This type of education is important for cognitive and social development. The years spent from Kindergarten through high school are intended to help an individual understand basic concepts to more advanced concepts and to hopefully, prepare them with the basic knowledge to either enter the work force immediately or continue their education in college. In either scenario, learning will still happen, through on the job training or through more specialized course work in college. Because college is an institution of higher learning, the end product needs to be a bit more polished and why students must take elective courses outside of their majors. With this type of learning, college students are able to become more socially adept and become more diverse in their thinking. They aren’t being taught one job, they are expanding their minds. This can happen for those directly entering the workforce but when one is surrounded by academia and people pursuing it, it lends itself to create an environment that allows for this expansion that an individual might not get by themselves in the afterhours of their job.

A person can be educated in many ways, but I feel the point of education is to help build a stronger individual who is able to be a complex thinker. I also believe that education helps make individuals more socially affluent by creating environments where peers need to work on projects together and cooperate. The final product of education is smart, well adjusted, social individuals. This person can now contribute to the betterment of society by being role models for future generations. Without education, even in its littlest form, our society degrades. It is education that will allow us to evolve and not just dream of greater things, but give us the means to achieve them.