Education Promotes Equality by Kayla

Education Promotes Equality by Kayla - January 2024 Scholarship Essay

“I always feel the movement is a sort of mosaic. Each of us puts in one little stone, and then you get a great mosaic at the end,” read the Alice Paul quote on the back of the purple shirt I wore the afternoon of August 26, 2020. I was one of only a few young women selected that day to honor the legacy of Alice Paul to mark the 100-year anniversary of the passage of the 19th amendment. I placed a yellow rose on her grave site and spoke on behalf of the Alice Paul Institute Girls Leadership Council about how Alice Paul, women’s rights suffragist, and activist, was instrumental in the change to the way women are viewed and heard today. This quote resonated with me, allowing me to reflect upon the history of how the strong women that represented the key organizations I was involved have laid the foundation for my formative years. Their values and viewpoints, their vision for the future shaping and stimulating me to move out of my comfort zone, towards becoming the successful woman I am meant to be.
Education is the change agent for social justice. However, 32 million Americans cannot read, and one out of twelve children has a disorder related to voice or speech. Growing up, I could not hear the wrong words I was saying as my family could and I struggled with reading comprehension. An Individualized Education Plan in elementary and middle school enabled me to receive speech and specialized reading instruction. This intervention enabled me to recognize that the foundation of literacy starts with reading out loud. The outcome of literacy is information, independent thought and freedom.
Overcoming these early obstacles inspired me to devote my Girl Scout Gold Award project to early literacy and share my story with others to build their reading confidence. Through my project, I initiated Kayla’s Knook Read Out Loud Program for students in grades 2 – 5. The act of reading out loud allows students to build confidence in their reading ability, which is a crucial barrier to forming successful reading skills. Over twenty children attended my workshops the past two summers. I created a website, www.kaylasknook.com dedicated to the resource materials developed and used during my workshops. Partnering with the Generations Family Success Center in Mt. Holly, New Jersey, I held workshops and used reading and writing prompts to promote reading confidence in young students. I created a reading nook and dedicated it to the Center, full of the books and prompts used throughout the workshops, to serve as a community resource.
Today's young people are passionate, resourceful, and curious. Yet, we feel the weight of the world on our shoulders, and we must rise to meet these global challenges. I am up for this challenge. Currently, a first-year student at Kutztown University I am continuing Kayla's Knook Read Out Loud Program for my college honors capstone project. As Nelson Mandela proclaimed, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world”, which is why I believe education is the change agent for social justice. An education instills the ability to think critically and literacy places all of us on a path toward equality. I am thankful for the encouragement I have received to overcome my learning challenges, to have the privilege of going to college, and in turn continue to help young students build their literacy skills. Our society needs people willing to put aside differences in an effort to better mankind to address global issues of basic human rights, global warming, and inequity.
My continued education is paramount to fulfilling my intellectual curiosity and lays out a path where I can do my part to change the world. Through my college capstone and turning my project into a nonprofit program, my vision of education to promote equality will be realized through my contribution towards achieving early literacy. Building bridges to literacy starts with reading out loud. While a college education will provide me with the credentials to enter the business world and contribute to a company’s successful business enterprise, it is up to me to make a difference. As my generation enters the business world, we will contribute to its evolvement including a recognition of a social consciousness movement and Kayla’s Knook Read Out Loud Program is my contribution.
I truly feel early literacy is the single most important foundational skill to succeed in a global community. Through the pursuit of my education and my passion to promote early literacy, I will be able to enhance the mosaic of the business world and add my “little stone” to the movement.