Right or Privilege? by Sarah

Right or Privilege? by Sarah - January 2021 Scholarship Essay

Education can be considered a given for many people that live in the United States. I believe that the way of education being a right vs a privilege is open to interpretation. Growing up my education was guaranteed and it was never questioned if it would ever be taken away from me. Growing up my friends never had to question whether they were going to be educated either; for us it was a given.
However, in many other countries, peoples' education is not considered a given and it would be considered a privilege if someone in a foreign country received an education. In other countries it is not the people’s rights to get a proper education, but something the people have to take hold of themselves and stand up in order to get an education, they have to work for it. Whereas in the United States all children have to do is walk into school day after day and have it come straight to them.
Education when viewed in another country would seem like such a privilege to have. But when that is compared to an education in the United States, everyone views education as a right that is automatically a given. Looking at the world from another view it is easy to see how we take many things for granted that other people are not given the opportunity for.