Education is such a broad word. In most cases it is taken advantage of. In the United States, It is the law for every child to be enrolled into school. Dropout rates there as been an increasing rate over the past 40 years but still the percentage rates are not increasing by that much. “About seven thousand students drop out every school day.” (High School Dropouts in America”) The United States is so privileged that children have to wake up and go to school in the morning, but we chooses to look at it as a burden. In many countries children have to wake up in the morning and work for pennies a day. “An estimated 211 million children between the ages of 5 and 14 are working around the world.”("Stop Child & Forced Labor") They work sun up to sun down, jobs that risk their lives, in fields picking produce, weaving through crops that are infested with poisonous snakes, standing around picking through garbage. Can you imagine the mental and emotional abuse of the child that has to do that every day? And we complain homework is too hard. In some counties women are looked upon unequal to men and are forced to stay home and take care of children. They are also are deprived of and education. What ever the case may be, every where around the world children are deprived of an education.
Education is the main key to bettering our world as whole. But to fix the world we have to start in our own back yard. Many children do not appreciate the value of our Education system. We take advantage of it. Most children snarl at doing homework, “Theirs better things to be doing instead of home work.” Like what? Hanging out, watching TV, and playing video games? If that child were to change places with and other that had to get up at the crack of dawn to works all day, I’m so sure they would never want to miss another day of school. But it’s not a reality for every unmotivated child to switch for a day.
Education is the single most important role to leading a healthy well rounded world. The United States needs to step up as a society and educate each other. We have to be inspired and willing. The will has to be stronger than the skill. And when you’re willing to something it makes it easier. The United States is built on materialistic views. Every thing is about what we look like and who has the most expensive items. We value things and not our mind. “America $25.3 billion a year on video games.” (Takahashi) If we as a society put all the energy in we put into video games and TV into Home work and school we would be a scholarly nation. If the parents put all that money into a school fund the nation would be independently wealthy. Bill Cosby says, “These people are not parenting. They are buying things for their kids—$500 sneakers for what? And won’t spend $200 for “Hooked on Phonics.” (Swain 47) Imagine if we put that in education and poverty ridden ghetto. Then and only then we could start to focus and lead a better path to educating the world.
When comparing educated individuals to uneducated individuals, you can see the difference. People who are educated have to work hard and maintain discipline to get their education. “I came away from many conversations fully convinced that the people with whom I was talking did not have a clue as to how hard successful people often work to attain their goals.”(Swain 49) Education makes you more aware of their health. Most college students don’t smoke or quit smoking because they truly understand the dangers of smoking and participate in exercise more. They have higher paying jobs, so their economical level is higher. They are more aware of there surroundings and get involved in the community and there state ledger. They are more likely to travel and experience other countries. People who do not proceed with their education work dead end jobs, resulting in welfare. “These individuals significantly diminish their chances to secure a good job and a promising future. For those who do not finish there education is responsible for substantial financial and social costs to their communities, states, and country in which they live.” (High School Dropouts in America”) They are more likely to participate in illegal activity to make ends meat, resulting in jail. They are less inclined about health, drugs, smoking, unprotected sex. How can some workings at minimum wage, raise three kids while there husband is in jail for selling drugs? They don’t have any money so they will probably will never leave there city. These conflicting issues are what are country is based on.
The values of our peers are based on the values of the parents. Children are often victims of their environment. Lower economic neighborhoods in very city are prime examples children who are victims of environment. “Ignorance is rampant among the poor. Before I dropped out of school, I believed that my situation was hopeless and that only rich people could go to college.”(Swain 50) The blind can not lead the blind. Parents have to take the responsibility for there children. “The parents are quick to blame teachers and the educational system rather than properly attributing lapses to what is not being said and done at home.” (Swain 48) It’s hard to look at the forest from the trees. People think that if they don’t know, then they don’t have to take responsibly. It’s the parents job to teach there children morals and values. It’s a frame of mind that has to be broken. The government has tried to approach the problem with those who are getting benefits from the state. They are required to do job training, and a minimum of 20 hours a week for job searching and even school. So that they can make enough money to provide on there own with out help from the government. Well, that still isn’t fixing the problem. They aren’t giving them insight on what how to break the chains of poverty. “Poverty is a lack of livelihood, or insufficiency of income and lack of assets to change the economic situation, and more often than not is accompanied by illiteracy, ill-health, lack of self-worth, loss of status and a sense of powerlessness. It follows that poverty reduction strategies should include broad-based approaches including the social, the political and the economic.”(Bhola 410) There has to be a way to teach people the reality and the consequences of their existence. These people don’t have to be neuroscientists over night but they have to teach there children morals and values of an education. Parents need to demand more of their children and to get involved in there Childs life. Wealth has nothing to do with academics. Being there for the child and encouraging, helping with home work is free. “But it is not schooling of children but education of adults that has a prior role in poverty reduction for sustainable development. Schooling prepares children for life in the intermediate future, but adult education can prepare adults in poverty for participation in life now.” (Bhola 409) America is its own worst enemy. There so much discussion of education and how it fix poverty. Education and poverty fall hand in hand. Bottom line you have to get educated to defeat poverty. The underlining of this country is based on the on freedom, freedom to better ourselves in every which way possible. That’s why our children don’t have to wake up at the crack of dawn to risks their lives to survive day to day. Next time you think it’s unfair that our teachers are throwing a boat load on you, thank them, because they are building and shaping our future!!!
