A Ripple Effect by Sahar

A Ripple Effect by Sahar - April 2015 Scholarship Essay

Education is the cornerstone of society. All significant economic development can be attributed to the presence of a large skilled workforce—take Japan, for example. Japan was never supposed to succeed in the global economy. It was isolated, conservative, high population density and too few resources, and was never considered part of the core of the global economy, if you will. However, Japanese culture places utmost value on education, and by setting in place rigorous educational institutions, it was able to create a motivated and skilled workforce. Almost as if by a miracle, it turned around its economy within a few decades, quickly moving to the forefront of the world stage, to the point where its human development index is now on par with key players like Denmark and the US. This principle works the other, way, too. Countries which are unable to, or refuse to, provide adequate and fair educational opportunities tend to have weaker economies. Therefore, it is easy to discern that the purpose of an education is to equip youths with the skills needed to help their societies make strides of socioeconomic progress. Much like a ripple effect, educational institutions are designed so that students will eventually come back and serve their country with their new-found knowledge and strength.

It’s quite a logical assertion: when youths are more aware of the issues that need to be fixed, the opportunities they have, and their own capabilities, they tend to become imbued with confidence and motivation; these are two qualities which invariably lead to progress. I have seen it work firsthand. I am lucky enough to have been given more educational opportunities than many people have, and due to the overall rigor of my high school, our alumni tend to go on to become movers-and-shakers. It is via their education that they are inspired to create and help America grow. I am part of a global studies program within my school, and in the past three years, my class has been utterly transformed because of our global education. Because we have been made aware of issues like gender disparity and environmental sustainability, we will go on to try to solve said issues. In fact, in just a few weeks, we will be holding a conference to educate our community about socioeconomic problems.

In other places, too, kids tend to find a sense of self-empowerment through school, whether they realize it or not. For example, a strong educational system can really educate kids about social issues, and this knowledge is enough to make students want to enact change in their everyday lives. Think of the profound positive effects of sex education, for example. The Demographic Transition Model shows that effective sex education empowers women because they become informed of their rights, and they learn that they do not have to have children if they don’t want to.

It is clear to see that education can have profound impacts upon a generation’s abilities. I can’t fathom when my peers tell me that they hate school. Education is everything. Everyone should, at some point use their knowledge for the greater good—that is, after all, why we have education in the first place.