The Value of Education

THE VALUE OF EDUCATION

BY YOHANA F.

According to The United Nations, human rights are inherent to all human beings, regardless of race, sex, nationality, ethnicity, language, religion, or any other status. Education is considered a human right, but is this true? Actually, more important: does everyone have access to it? There is a short answer: no. There are more than 264 million children who do not have access to education, not even to the elementary one. That being said, we can consider that free and quality education is a privilege, which clearly should not be. 

We need to differentiate required (elementary, middle and high school) and professional education.

HOW MUCH EDUCATION IS IMPORTANT IN SOCIETY?

Coming from a household where it was not possible for everyone to even go to elementary school, I can assure you that education is a vital necessity. My grandma was never able to go to school. Therefore, she did not learn how to read, write or speak properly. Working is another human right. As it is obvious, my grandma could not work suitably and in favorable conditions, because she never had an education. However, which is more important, she was not able to be like everyone else. She is the older daughter in a family of ten; so, she stayed at home to maintain the household, while the rest of her siblings could attend school. Nowadays, she is still marginalized, because she does not speak perfectly, owing to her inability to spell and to fully comprehend basic knowledge. What I wanted to illustrate with all of this is that education is not only a necessity to work, but to live.  

It would be ignorant to say that everyone should go to college, for many reasons. Not every single human needs to study to be a doctor, a teacher or a lawyer. No career should not be considered better than others. We also need cleaners, chefs, firefighters or engineers. However, every single person needs a basic education to live. 

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?

When we think about the value of education, we think about how much it costs, instead of how valuable is that knowledge. Clearly, college is expensive, especially in countries like The United States of America, and this is a huge problem, but we are dealing with millions of kids who do not even know what a school is. 

Even though I can assure that everyone should finish high school, I do not feel this way for college. The value of education is in diversity. Having people prepared in different areas, not having a society full of college graduates. 

We have a long way to go, we need to give everyone the power of education. This is the weapon that will change the world. 

Sources: https://www.un.org/en/global-issues/human-rights

https://www.dw.com/en/unesco-264-million-children-dont-go-to-school/a-41084932