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Importance of education Essay

Parents having or not having a college degree should not determine if their child will go to college. Some may say the amount of money the parents make should determine if the child will be able to attend college. If the parent’s income is low that should motivate the kid to try harder to at least earn a scholarship to college. On the news there was a teenager about the age of 18; she was a senior who is getting ready to graduate. Her parents had no money to put her through college. She told the reporter that she was not going to allow that stop her from going to college. This young lady is now going to University of Notre Dame on a full ride scholarship. There is no reason not to attend college, because without a college education there are fewer opportunities. Others think about the physical benefits of education to motivate them such as money, cars and clothes. They think about how their life would be with all those materialistic things. There are some children whose parents did not attend college but they did not let that stop them from going to college and doing what they wanted to do in life. Although some families cannot afford to put their children through college that should not stop them because education is significantly linked to many other outcomes and changes viewpoints.

Ever since I can remember, my friend’s father has preached the benefits of good education. He never tires of quoting Alexander Pope’s maxim: “The height that great men reached and kept were not attained by sudden flight, but while their companions slept, were toiling upwards in the night”, as his stand-in for get all the education you can obtain, and while you’re at it, don’t slack off. He knows what he is talking about because he has several degrees to back it up—a Bachelor of Science in Nursing, as well as a PH.D in English education.

Mother, with a Bachelor of Arts in Religion, a Bachelor of Science in Nursing, and a Master of Science in Nurse Anesthesia, is not too far behind. Growing up with them, I am awed by how many the parents, who came from extremely humble educational backgrounds in our native Ghana, achieved. My friend Michael told me none of his grandparents had a college degree. Some of the outcome education holds is: it gives the freedom for one to get married, and to raise a child outside of poverty. According to Michael Greenstone, (2009) “In 2010, more than 38 percent of the 14 million children of mothers who had not graduated from high school lived below the poverty line. Among other things, they are less likely to do well in school, which creates a vicious cycle where the children of less-educated parents fall farther behind their peers who were born into more-educated families”. Good education has a major effect on how one will live their future. Parents who have less education have a hard time finding a decent job, getting married or supporting their children. Most families with less education live pay check to pay check because their income is not enough to support them. I agree with this statement because I have could relate.

When I first moved to the States from Ghana, my parents’ degrees were not valid in the U.S. My parents had to find low income jobs to work at; we lived pay check to pay check. Parents with good education financial freedom can raise a child without and trouble financially. For example my friend Michael’s parents have a good education background they have three kids, two boys and one girl. The two boys are both attending Michigan State University. I have been blessed with a family that has used education as their gateway to success.

For example, my mother has three brothers and one sister. My mother and father decided to help my  uncle come to America from their homeland of Ghana. When they got here, my parents helped pay for his school to a community college. Now each of them has beautiful families they are able to provide for, thanks to their education. My uncle now has his masters in biology and is a professor at a community college in Ohio. After my uncle graduated he told me how happy he was about the choice he made to go to college to get his masters. Unfortunately, my aunt could not make it to America because she has family obligation back in Ghana, and to this day she still depends on my parents for basic sustenance. With a good education my family was able to provide for my other family members when they need help the most. Not saying with a less a education people cannot provide for their families, I am simply saying a good education makes it an easy task not a burden. My best friend was a smart person but his parents did not have the money to help him attend college.

He went through a lot of difficulty to get his scholarship: He asked family members to help pay; he went to the bank for a loan; he worked the entire summer as a full time cashier at Best Buy; he then got the call about his full ride scholarship. My best friend’s parents did not finish college, but he did not let that affect his decision to college even though he knew his parents didn’t have the money. He later on told me he didn’t know what to do about the money situation for college, but he worked hard in high school to get a full ride scholarship to Andrews University. My best friend did not only work hard, but he has to also give up high school sports to focus on his education. He was in the honors program and was an honor roll student; he was also valedictorian of our high school. These are some of the characteristics which made him the best person for the scholarship. I honestly think that there should not be any reason for anyone not to go to college because in the long run people tend to wish they had gone to  college. But who really cares about education? Who besides me and my parents care about the benefits education brings to the person who pursues their education to a higher level? A crucial reason education is so important is the fact that the lack of education can lead to ignorance which can be very dangerous.

When you learn new things you not only grow scholastically, but you also change your views about topics you didn’t fully understand. For instance, my friend Michael grew up never hating homosexuals; however, he didn’t understand them so he understood the idea that homosexuality is a choice behavior. In his church school junior high religion classes, he was taught that homosexuality is immoral because people essentially choose that lifestyle. Michael later on came to the public school where I attended. He took several biology classes where he learned that for the most part there is significant biological component to homosexuality. By definition, education is the act or process of imparting or acquiring general knowledge, developing the powers of reasoning and judgment, and generally of preparing oneself or others intellectually for mature life. Education is not only about who has the money but rather who has the motivation to strive for success. Knowledge has a way of enriching the life of the student as well. Throughout my years as a student I have had wonderful teachers who have helped me appreciate knowledge for its own sake. Nowadays finding a job without a good education is hard; people are going back to college to further their education just to land a good job. At my college I see people old enough to be my grandparents; they are not there because they have nothing better to do.

They are there because they want a good education and financial freedom. Education is not only about who has the money but rather who has the motivation to strive for success. Throughout my years as a  student I have had wonderful teachers who have helped me appreciate knowledge for its own sake and I will continue to strive for success.

Greenstone, M. (2010). The Importance of education: An Economics View. Retrieved from

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