Change the World by Kendra

Change the World by Kendra - April 2015 Scholarship Essay

Nelson Mandela once said, "Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world". Our world continues to function because of people seeking education. People are constantly learning new things, gathering new bits of knowledge, weather they like it or not. Which is a wonderful thing. The very reason for education is to better ourselves, our community, and improving our standard of living.

From the moment we are born, we are constantly collecting information about our world, exploring our environment and making discoveries about how it functions. Education, is simply a more in-depth version of collecting, exploring, and discovering. Children are sent to school by their parents with the hope that they will learn and grow. The hope that they will become successful, motivated young adults. Young adults pursue a college degree, with the hope that they can increase their knowledge and have a successful career. These aspirations drive us. College degrees give way to careers, which give way to cars, homes, families and a comfortable life. Education keeps people from facing a life of poverty and hardship. People strive to improve themselves through education in order to lead a comfortable life.

In addition to having a comfortable life, education also helps people to improve their community. People who have obtained an education, have the intelligence and determination to do so. Communities need businesses, healthcare, schools, recreation, and an infrastructure to support it. Businessmen bring jobs and opportunities to a town. Doctors breath life into a community. Teachers continue to offer education and the betterment of society. All of these careers are invaluable to society, and only attainable though education. Because of these careers, towns and cities across the world are able to support, sometimes several million people, at a standard of living of which is sufficient.

Not only does education afford us a comfortable life and a flourishing community, it allows for the improvement in our standard of living. As previously stated, a higher education leads to a successful career and a comfortable life. If many people achieve this, it becomes societies "norm". Which in turn will make it accessible to a larger portion of society, thus improving the standard of living. Education is vital to the improvement and betterment of society.

Now, some people could argue that the education system is an archaic idea, which has no place in modern society. They argue that one can learn just as much or more, from an informal education or from experience. However, I disagree. Formal and higher education is the very cornerstone of which modern society is built upon. Without it, society disintegrates and crumbles into a pile of unintelligible rubble. We need education to prevent us from reverting back to our caveman ways. After all what separates man from beast, is education.

In summation, education is the path to improving not only ourselves, but our communities and our standard of living. When we better ourselves, it gives way to the amelioration of our communities and our standard of living. It's all interconnected, you cannot have one without the other. The purpose of education is to make the world a better place to live.