Education has always been a controversial topic over the ages. It has been the source of power for many. To be educated means being able to think and decide soundly. Education has always helped humankind to leap forward into the future. Education has opened doors for many people. Learning new concepts has inspired many to be intuitive and be inventive. But in this modern time, there are still those who are kept away from the light of learning. There are still people who are not able to get a decent education. On the other hand even people in first world countries who have access to schools also have the dilemma of being imprisoned in a boxed method of learning which hinders creativity and the natural thirst to learn.
To Educate is to Liberate
In many developing countries free education has already been given to the impoverished. However, even if there is free education there are still many children who are unable to go to school. They are victims of a viscous cycle where in their parents are unable to go to school, and thus cannot find a decent job. They in turn live in a hand to mouth existence where the mere daily survival is problematic and cannot even dare to think about going to school. The few children who are given the opportunity to go to school have to either attend class hungry, walk kilometer on barefoot and some have to scavenge or work to earn money. Only one out ten children who go to elementary school are able to go college in these poor countries.
Being uneducated imprisons them in archaic beliefs and endangers their existence. They cling on beliefs passed down to them rather than using their own intellect in living their lives. They are unable to find good jobs when they grow older. They are unable to provide food to their children when they have families.
Some though are able to escape the inability to go to school. Many impoverished parents would move heaven and earth just to make sure their sons and daughters step in to the threshold of a school. These children value the gift of learning so much. They take part time jobs in their high school years to support their schooling. Some even go to college and change their lives.
The ability to learn and be educated can liberate so many because it gives them the opportunity to be employable members of the society. They do not need to rely on government sustenance and relief goods or donations to live. The children who are born poor will not die poor. They can rise up from the prison of poverty and help in molding their society into a better place. And going to school does not just allow them to find decent jobs, it also teaches them concepts which is beyond day to day survival. They learn to appreciate art and music. They dream dreams and desire to contribute.
Education Should Not be a System of Tyranny
First world countries provide ample education for almost everyone. There is no shortage of teachers and classrooms. On the other hand there are times that there is a shortage of freedom. Many schools in first world countries train their pupils to study to be worker ants in the future. They are subjected in to sitting in classes that are not imaginative but monotonous. They are given tests that sometimes do not really measure their real learning but subjects them to ridicule among their peers.
Studying should be an adventure that children are excited to undertake. It should be a learning process for both the teacher as well as the student. When learning becomes exciting, then no one will feel reluctant to learn. Learning should not be like a race to the top, it should be a playground where everybody is equal. At some point, children should be able to choose something they would like to learn about, yet they should also be provided a structured set of studies. All these may still sound Ethiopian but at some point these concepts will be able to meld into one allowing the school system to produce minds that think and create rather than just follow and do.
Education is a never ending process. Even if you have finished school, even if you have had several degrees you should engage your mind into learning something new every day. Once you fall in love with acquiring knowledge you will become a tree that not only feeds but also provides life into this world. You should never stop learning; once you stop learning that is the moment you die.