My Journey Of Education

In society today, people are judged by their level of education. Education is the key in society today. According to begintoread.com, today in the United States 1 out of 4 children grow up without learning how to read. Also at early stage of life the brain start developing and adjusting to the environment that they were raised in. In addition, books and education helps develop the brain especially in early age. According to the National Center for Education, Statistics shows that the majority of people who don’t complete high school have basic or below-basic literacy skills. 26% of prison inmates nationwide had parents who had not completed high school, and 37% of inmates had not completed high school themselves. Literacy is powerful in times of development because it leads to success in life and helps with solving a problem.

How was it like at the very beginning? During the mid 1700’s, around when America was founded, schooling was costly, and often considered unnecessary. most children were taught to read and write at home. By the late 1700s, the literacy rate was around 75% for males and 65% for females. Most children wrote in a “‘copy book”’, as paper was expensive.

According to the Huffington Post, literacy in America hasn’t changed in over ten years. In that time we have had breakthroughs in technology yet the education systems have not been improved. So there hasn’t been an increase in literacy. While it is true that the way Americans go about their lives have been changed, education for the new generations have been impacted negatively in three major ways.

What is the American education system without the standard, boring, and dreadful English class (as most students looks at it in this generation); it is non-existent. Every part of education here in America, for the most part, focused on English. Students here have to take some sort of English class every year from k-12, no exceptions. Most students have gone on completely different journeys to get to the level of intelligence in this subject that they are today. I’m here today to share my journey to literacy.

The things that I read about weren’t very new to me and I wasn’t surprised by much of what I read. Despite the fact that I don’t have many questions regarding this reading I recognize the importance of asking questions. In class you instructed us to “ Ask questions and begin to find different answers in order to improve our learning experience.” The only thing that truly shocked me was in Something Torn and New and the author stated that lynched men were often castrated. My question to that would be why is something like that not a well known fact? Also, what was the purpose of this? I also would like to know why a lot of our history is not taught in elementary, middle, and high school? Why must a black person wait until they reach college to be taught about the ancestors in a school setting? I don’t think that's fair, because in school white people are heavily taught about their ancestors. I wish I was taught more than the bare minimum about my ancestors.

There are many factors that could be causing the drop of literacy in the United States. Poverty is one of the largest causes of illiteracy today (Nayak). Students and families living in poverty are more likely to be illiterate than students and families living with strong financial standings. Families dealing with tough financial situations are often more focused on providing food and shelter for their children rather than sending them to school (Nayak). Therefore, these children are not being encouraged to obtain an education. Little to no education for a young child can

“ Although the road is never ending, take a step and keep walking, do not look fearfully into distance...On this path let the heart be your guide for the body is hesitant and full of fear.” At first, these poetic words by Rumi had little significance to me as I started my journey in healthcare. As I progressed through my journey into medical school I realized how well it defines my journey and its hurdles as one progresses through medical school. I have always been drawn to art of medicine. As long as I remember while just being a high school student, having just moved from another country and starting my education in USA, I was under the excellent guidance of talented biology teacher. Her interest into my studies and motivation made it possible for me to endure into a journey that was both fruitful and difficult at the same time. Working with her early on in my early career towards health sciences I knew that this is the journey I was going to take. Only when I am now at the end I can fully understand what Rumi said in his quote and how much it relates to me. My early interactions with healthcare blossomed into passion that I continued on towards completing my journey of medicine. This journey had its ups and down and not till my clinical years that I completely understood my scarifies and why that I took upon such a task. In my clinical years the interaction I had with patients made me realize this is what I would do if I were to start over and over again on the same

To start, my family is not capable of supporting my education financially. My mother is physically disabled and unable to work. With whatever money she receives in order to take care of herself, she also helps to support my sister and her children. Achieving my aspirations for attending university would not be possible without the scholarships and federal loans that I was able to receive. Financial aid allows me to attend school and live in Athens without worrying about food and necessities while I study. I have been able to effectively utilize the financial aid that I have received, as well as money earned from working, to afford my school expenses. These scholarships were awarded to me not only because of my family’s inability to contribute

In my pursuit of higher education and becoming a math professor, I have had a rough start. I had to find a place to stay after my grandma kicked me out. I first tried to stay with a friend but they had to move. So I moved in with my father and his girlfriend while starting my first semester. However, a few weeks into the school year my father stopped taking me to school. He left the house after a fight between him and his girlfriend. He didn’t show up for a few weeks. Plus, nobody wanted to pick me up from where we lived because of how early my classes were and the distance. So, most of my professors dropped me and one professor said I never showed at all. Although I knew I could go back next semester, I chose not to register for more classes

Everyone had their own educational journeys before they attend their dream colleges. They have gained experiences to prepare for college, and they can adapt to college environment well. I did enjoy my time at elementary school, junior high school, and high school as well. I have gained some experiences by studying from low to high school levels, and I know these experiences are valuable.

My educational journey begins, as a humble full-time domesticated housewife and mother of three mischievous children that grow-up to be responsible adults. I had the pleasure of completing my Master’s Degree in Business Administration from University of Phoenix, graduated in November 2014.

My story about being taught to read and write is no battle or struggle like those before and after me. I am very privileged to say I went and have been going to school in order to have the essentials I need in life. Reading and writing make the world go round. If the human race was unable to express their voices, we would all be doomed. Reading gives you knowledge, it allows you to step into another person’s shoes, to see, to feel, to learn and to imagine what they experienced. Without writing there would be nothing to read. They go hand and hand.

I was born on December 31, 1970 in Elyria. Ohio just moments before the New Year; a tax deduction and the first born girl of my middle class insurance selling father and stay at home mother. As far back as I can remember, we always lived in a nice neighborhood, in a nice house; that is, until 1977, when at age seven, divorce would rock my perfect world. From then on out, I would find myself in survival mode; my mother did not divorce well you see, and I found myself always having to choose between my two parents; something an impressionable young girl should never have to do. Fortunately, for me my mother’s sister and her husband, my Aunt Sue and Uncle Bill would step in a lot and give me a safe place to be a kid.

In today’s society we have grown up where education has become an important role in many of our lives. Everyone talks about the importance of getting an education and how being well educated opens the door for many opportunities. For as long as I can remember, I have always been told by my friends and family to take advantage of the education offered and to not let it be taken for granted as many wish to have the opportunity to attend school. Both my parents grew up in Guatemala, where they completed some of their high school education, they came to the United States in the early 90’s. They first arrived in the United States not knowing any English and up to this date they are not fluent in the language but are able to understand some of the basics and speak very little. Currently, I am the one in the family who they come to when something needs to be translated or filed.

India is being considered as ‘Tiger Economy’ and emerging as a big power on the global map, but in the same country millions of Dalits (broken people) and Tribal (native people) are living in subhuman condition. One of the egregious examples is manual scavenging; according to Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) projection 1.3 million people in India are involved in manual scavenging work. This is unbelievable and unacceptable in any civilized society, but people are forced into manual scavenging work across India. These people are called ‘Untouchables’ and they are Dalits within Dalits in India and their conditions are disgraceful and unparalleled in the world. This is of great significance in my life because I’m a Dalit and was born in the slum of a big city (Ahmedabad). Since an early age I have been experiencing and observing discrimination in the name of caste (social hierarchical structure).