What an education means to me Essay Example for Free

What an education means to me Essay â€Å"Education is a progressive discovery of our ignorance† says Will Durant (1885-1981) Education liberated me from ignorance and placed me in a high pedestal to wine and dines with the intellectuals and not mere men. Sometimes I wonder what my life would have been, without being educated. Like they say education is expensive, then why don’t you try ignorance? A life without education is a passive one. In everything I believe â€Å"basics are the mother of all knowledge† hence, societal development is highly dependent on the literacy level of its citizen. Education to me can either be an informal education or formal education. Informal education is a type of education which is outside the school premises while those of formal are within the school settings. Informal education given to me by my parents helped me a lot and equipped me with basic skills in human relationship and communication skills on which I was able to build upon. This gave me a starter dose. As a child, the elementary school introduces me to the basic skills, information and attitude necessary to thrive in my society. I was also introduce to the principles of reading, writing and spelling and even to some basic arithmetic. I was also introduced to some forms of fine arts, elementary science and some forms of handicraft. Education taught me the creative use of my mind and how to make it work for me in all aspect of my life. It gave me the capacity and ability to evaluate information and to predict future outcomes. I can also effectively recognize and evaluate different points of view even when arguing with my colleagues or friend and not creating a kind of enmity. Education also trained me to seek out alternative solutions and evaluate them when there is need for such, this I called problem solving skills. Education gave me a better understanding of my culture and environment and also helped me to learn history of my country, and an insight into that of others. With all the knowledge and wisdom from such learning I was able to integrate that with some aspect of my life. Acquisition of information about the past and present: including traditional disciplines such as literature, history, science, mathematics was as a result of education and this influence the development of every community. Without education knowledge and history can not be passed from one generation to the other. Education also influences my religion and this has guided my beliefs and actions. The influence of education on self esteem can not be underestimated. Taking my life as a case study, I used to be someone with a low self esteem until I got to realize what self esteem is all about and its effect my actions, life in totality. The sense of well-being, i. e. my mental and physical health has greatly improved. I’m now able to acquire some values and attitude that is highly essential in the competitive and dynamic worlds of ours. The role of education in personal values is very important, because this gave me an opportunity of self-realization and self reflection which is germane to the awareness of my innate abilities and goals. Educations taught me â€Å"morals† which simply means acting in a right manner and knowing how to deal with people. Knowledge of moral practices and ethical standards acceptable by society and culture can only be achieved via education. Everything my religion taught me about morals was as a result of my ability to read, think and takes actions, which are all by-products of education. It’s often said that where there’s no law there’s no sin, hence people can only behave well when they are taught the benefits of acting right towards their fellow citizen. This simply gives capacity and ability to be a good citizen. Education is a prerequisite for an intellectual pursuit. From mine point of view is education simply makes people respect you and recognize you and your achievements. I believe there can be a professor without education and there can’t be a civilized society without education. Culture which is a way of life can only be acquired through education and exposure to the arts. Formation of healthy social and or formal relationships among and between students, teacher, others are some of the importance of education to my life. Culture is also maintain and kept from one age to the other as a result of education. My utmost view of education is that I will be able to earn a living, make the right choice, strengthening my character, becomes strong, develop my body soul and spirit and live a fulfill life. With my career I will be of use to my immediate environment. Above all education makes a better leader. I will conclude this piece by quoting the words of B. F skinner and Jack Stack which says â€Å"Education is what survives when what has been learnt has been forgotten†. – B. F. Skinner â€Å"When you appeal to the highest level of thinking, you get the highest level of performance†. -Jack Spack Reference Teachers mind resource. (2008). The meaning of education. Teacher’s mind resource. Retrieved July 9, 2008. From www. teachersmind . com