graduation speech

graduation speech

The Importance of Education

1. The Value of Education

Education has reached a point now where there are a number of separate studies that have attempted to estimate the rate of return to education. These studies have been primarily concerned with identifying the social benefits of education. Among the statistics presented, there are two pieces of research from the UK and US that are particularly illuminating.

Educated people have access to a more extensive range of jobs. A professional or white-collar job is not within the reach of an uneducated person. Education also increases the productivity of workers and plays a crucial role in determining the earnings of an individual worker. The more educated a person is, the higher the probability that they will embark on further training. This too sets the scene for higher earnings in future life.

The value of education is an abstract concept. It is well recognized that education confers many advantages, including private and social benefits. The best measure of the value of education will be the amount of additional income earned as a result of education. The private benefits of education are intangible but substantial. The most important benefit is that education increases the chances of a better life for an individual, or in other words, it opens a door of untold opportunities for a good career. It has become a general rule that the better the job, the higher the salary, and this is usually the case.

2. Achievements and Challenges

However, the increased education of the later 20th century has been mixed with both increasingly positive outcomes but also continuing and newly created challenges.

Recently, the education community in Texas accomplished a major reform in its education system known as House Bill 72. This bill has many features and intended outcomes, but the most notable was the requirement for working towards equal funding for equal education across the state. While the effect of this particular policy will not be observed for a number of years, it demonstrates an increasing appreciation of education at all levels as a means to upward mobility and economic and social development. It specifically recognizes the importance of quality education for the disadvantaged, which may be termed as an investment in ‘human capital stock repair’.

The major achievement in education is the demonstration that skill levels are increasing in the modern economy. The skill level of a nation’s workforce is a major determinant of its long-run economic success. Over the last 20-30 years, there has been an increasing emphasis on education as a means to bolster a nation’s economic position in the global economy. This effort has come in the form of a push at every level of education to improve academic performance and an increase in the number of people obtaining a university-level education.

Over the decades, researchers have demonstrated that the key to knowing about the importance of education does not lie in the knowledge gained, but what one does with the knowledge that is gained. Education has more recently been thought of as a vital capital, making it the foundation of functional citizens and a necessity for economic growth and job security.

3. The Power of Knowledge

No Child Left Behind and its implications With the passage of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) in 1965, there was further federal involvement. In 2002 this act underwent major changes with the implementation of No Child Left Behind (NCLB). This act has had a great impact on testing in that it has required assessments in basic skills by the 2005-2006 school year. This impelled many schools and states to adopt standardized tests if they had not already done so. NCLB requires annual assessments for grade 3-8 and at least once in grades 10-12 in reading and math. Sanctions are incurred upon schools who do not reach the standards set by state assessments. Data is disaggregated to look at results for different subgroups and there is a heightened emphasis on accountability for results. At the same time, NCLB has elicited opposition by those who argue it overemphasizes testing and has led to less instructional time in other subjects. With its wide scope on the educational system, NCLB will continue to have many implications and assessment is only one of them.

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas On May 17, 1954, came a major turning point in the form of a United States Supreme Court decision in the case of A. Briggs et al. v. the Board of Education of the City of Richmond, Virginia, a case consolidated with Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas. Decisions in related cases argued that separate school systems for whites and blacks were inherently unequal and that such conditions violated the 14th amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Implications of 1946 for testing and assessment There was a growing understanding that standardized tests of intelligence and achievement were not culture-free and that assessment of a child’s potential was hindered by race and class bias. This was especially significant in 1946 when Congress established a presidential commission to investigate ways of making the tests more useful and less discriminatory. Over the next two decades, significant federal resources were used for the desegregation of schools and the testing of minority students.

4. Embracing the Future

Technology is a powerful tool and embraces the future with positive expectations. At present, technology is at a standstill. People generally let computers do the work and are becoming gradually more and more lazy. However, there will come a time when computers will be fully developed and be able to think for themselves. As unbelievable as it may sound, through a process of evolution, computers will develop artificial intelligence to surpass human intelligence. At this time, computers will be essential in the learning process, eliminating the ambiguities of human knowledge. Education will be universal. The most intelligent people will learn from the computer, and the computer in turn will educate the masses. The only drawback is that this will result in a large social gap between the educated elite and the uneducated masses. At its peak, artificial intelligence will create knowledge beyond the grasp of humans, and humans will learn best through the computer-generated learning programs. At this point, the education of today will become obsolete. However, this is not a negative connotation. In the same sense, man did not stick to using the abacus, education will advance on whatever the current means, to a more efficient and effective method which in this case is learning from the computer. Man will come to the realization that the cost of maintaining an education system based on human education will be impractical and the knowledge gap between the current generation and the last will be too large. So what is the result for education? It’s a long road ahead and education of today will remain in present methodology for many many years to come. The more educated people will understand the trends and find that productivity in learning through future methods will benefit them much more. However, the ultimate result is a more intelligent society. With universal education in a more efficient learning format, knowledge will increase. This is, in essence, the goal of education—to further knowledge. And so the education of today has a long-term goal. It seeks to keep the current and future generations as knowledgeable as possible. And this is why education is important because it is the mechanism to ensure the success of the future. In closing, education is the single most important tool for the advancement of society. It is a universal solvent that is instrumental in the social, political, and economic development of any nation. Education’s relevance will never cease, and the desire and the thirst for knowledge will always reign. Any positive change seen in the world can be attributed to the education of the people. So always remember the importance of education and never diminish the opportunity to learn.

5. Making a Difference in the World

One of the most significant reasons for a college education is to make a difference in society. The knowledge we are exposed to, the critical thinking skills we develop, and the people we meet while studying at a higher education institution, we are presented with the opportunity to work for the common good. College and professional schools provide a great chance to grow as a person and as a citizen, to understand one’s place in the world, and to give back to society in return. Students are not educated to simply get a job – they are educated to understand the complexities of the world, to sift through it, and to decide how they can best make a difference. Higher education teaches us who we are, what we want to become, and provides us with the tools to become that person. With the ability to understand and analyze the problems that we face in today’s society, and the confidence to propose change, we can feel a strong sense of purpose. When individuals enter a profession, they bring not only their skills but also a sense of social responsibility. More educated people in today’s society translate to a more widely enlightened society. Given the opportunity, I would try to instill the importance of contributing to the common good in my children. I would want my kids to understand that the work one does is only as good as the change it creates. I would want them to realize that through work, whether it be through a simple and honest living or devoting oneself to a great cause, serving others brings life its greatest satisfaction. College students are tomorrow’s leaders, and promising students from every social strata the opportunity to attend higher education can only be seen as a step in the right direction. With individuals deriving from many different backgrounds and possessing various life experiences, higher education students are presented with an excellent opportunity to get rid of prejudgments and integrate with people of different ethnicities. Understanding is the key to a more cohesive society, and education is the first step to understanding. Coexisting with other Americans and communicating one’s ideas will help to promote increased participation in our democracy. A well-informed and active citizen is the American democracy’s best hope for the future. My grandfather tells tales of walking to his one-room schoolhouse in upstate New York and how his educational opportunities were a far cry from what we have today. Through his success and moving stories, I am constantly reminded of how much progress our society has made and how much I can do given my educational opportunities. I’ll never be able to repay these opportunities; I can only make the most of them and create positive change for the common good. By bettering myself through education, I also have the opportunity to better the world. By providing an education, the world has a better tomorrow.