The Importance Of Formal Education

Education is an investment. This is the reason we see many people acquire education and become successful. Life is not bed of roses, and some people are unable to get their desired education. This may be due to various reasons such as not having enough money, or taking care of their families and loved ones. However, there are some people who fights with life to achieve their goals and return to college to fulfil it. According the article, “Colleges Embrace Older Students, Part-timers”, Sandra Block discusses that commute daily to college and family dependencies are also major obstacle for non-traditional students beside paying for tuition. Those who lives in remote areas it becomes very difficult to travel college daily. Moreover, people who are married they need to spend time with their spouse and children. Block suggests some solutions to overcome these problems, which includes creating more online interactive courses, opening satellite locations, evening classes and offering scholarships can aid the part-timers to fulfil their dreams. Even though there are several ways to counter the problems of non-traditional students but I suggest creating more online interactive courses will aid them to achieve their dreams.

The topic on whether education is considered a human right or privilege has been one of the most interesting debates around the world. If people are continually denied access to an equal education, then their words would go underneath and their voices would go unheard. All those who were denied the human right to be able to express their ideas would ultimately lead to an even larger division between the classes. Each and every one has the right to an education that will equip them to achieve a suitable life and be a valuable part of society. Without providing higher education as a right, America would not be living up to “the land of opportunity” ("Free Higher Education Is a Human Right | Huff Post,").

In an idealistic world, one’s education would not be determined by their social class or living environment. Instead, those who live in the low class outskirts of an urban industrial population to those who live in ritzy suburban homes and are part of the private school system would be learning the same values and have similar if not equal curricula. However, we as a society have not managed to make this ideal applicable. Instead we find ourselves with an education system that seems to benefit those with favourable living conditions. As discussed in Anyon’s “Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work”, depending on your economic status, you may be taught to just “Follow the steps in a procedure” as per the working class schools or how to independently carry out your creative activities as found in the affluent professional school. These very different extremes have an effect on one’s future by setting you up for a life as a factory worker or as a lawyer. It is this economical and social structure that I had to overcome to get to where I am today.

Education is what prepares you to what part of society you become. In Horace Mann’s “Report of the Massachusetts Board of Education” written in 1848, he tells of the importance of education, and the changes that need to happen in his era. Mann says that education “beyond all other devices of human origin is the great equalizer of the conditions of men—the balance wheel of the social machinery.” In education today, Jean Anyon shows how of education does not give equal opportunities for the reasons why to get an education, “By means of early education, these embryos of talent may be quickened, which will solve the difficult problems of political and economical law; and by them, too, the genius may be kindled which will blaze forth in the Poets of Humanity” (Mann). Ken Robinson shows the problems within The United States of America’s education system’s “No Child Left Behind” act. Modern American educational systems have not been as equalizers to all children citizens giving no equal opportunity, and no changes are planning to improve the education that leaves children behind.

In America, citizens have the right to obtain an education that will withstand the test of time. This education that is given to us at no cost for twelve years of our lives is a gift like no other. Our school systems employ professionals to teach each individual student what they must know to be successful in life. I have been particularly blessed to make it through my primary education with the fondest of memories. I had the opportunity to start school in pre-kindergarten, continue to Junior High, and now I am experiencing college while being a senior in high-school. Sadly, it is common that many students will not have an experience like mine. In a short essay called An Indian Father’s Plea a Native American father, Robert Lake-Thom, reveals the hardships that are faced by students that do not fit the mold.

Children in underprivileged areas like Afghanistan, Brazil, and Kenya battled drawbacks daily only to achieve a basic education. Many are unaware of the circumstances in which poverty affects children. Few circumstantial factors kept mass numbers of children in these destitute areas from getting the crucial knowledge needed to obtain schooling and better lives. Children could not receive an education due to family complications. Children also could not obtain education on account of psychological and environmental obstacles. In contrast, a few students overcame their shortcomings and, as a result of the environments they lived in, pursued education for a life better than their ancestors.

Malala believes education is unequivocally one of the most important resources that can be made available to children around the world. Education is invaluable and sparks the growth of countries that previously lacked the ability to sustain schools and education systems. While it may seem that there are other social issues that should take priority, Malala believes that proper schooling provides a much-needed background for the next generation. This foundation allows for a steady progression that will produce more well-informed citizens. Malala states that “’I know the importance of education because my pens and books were taken from me by force… But the girls of Swat are not afraid of anyone. We have continued with our education’” (Malala 214). In this quote, she is not only expressing her own passion for education, but the conviction of the girls of Swat as well. It is important for these women to support each other and continue to fight the establishment in their pursuit of education. These actions will construct a path in which other girls will follow, burgeoning the community and bringing hope to women in Malala’s country and around the world as well. Malala understands that education is an exceptionally pivotal social issue, and believes that her campaign toward acknowledging and improving school systems is the best way for her to begin making a change.

Imagine not understanding the world we are living in, and having a job without an education, so you can provide for your family. Education significantly impacts everyone in this world. “As of 2012, 31 million primary-school pupils worldwide dropped out of school. An additional 32 million repeated a grade.”Education is a human right, it provides security, and gives us knowledge of the world around us, however, some people may think that education is not important.

Education, a necessity for many people to become successful later in life. When the option for education is taken away from a person, it is more difficult to progress in a career. Many people that aren’t allowed to go to school are not executing their full potential and no one would ever know if that person would have amounted to greatness that our country needed. There are many reasons that people are not allowed to go to school, it is commonly because of sex, race or where someone’s from. That’s is why, “The only way we can fight back is to excel” an article by D. Russakoff has multiple testimonies from Dreamers that can no longer do things they were once able to do. The only way I feel like I can relate to this is where I grew up and how much harder for people to get an education.

In society, learning is a vital means for survival and a necessary skill needed in order to gain knowledge, however, the acquisition of knowledge is approached in two different forms: formal and informal. Formal education consists of schools and teachers whom enforce standardized practices of learning and a fixed environment for students in the classroom, while in informal education, individuals often learn through unstructured methods and resources such as tutoring, Youtube, and online websites in which attendance is not mandatory and there is no standardized system. Many authors have different views on which method is more efficient and valuable as some argue that formal education is the path to ensure financial success and future goals, while others advocate for informal education to be a better path to success in gaining experiences and knowledge. Examples of texts that participate in the debate between formal and informal education are Hunger of Memory by Richard Rodriguez, The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts by Maxine Hong Kingston, “Blue-Collar Brilliance” by Mike Rose, and “College is a Waste of Time and Money” by Caroline Bird. As demonstrated by the arguments in these texts, one should value formal education over informal education because formal education allows for credibility and respect, serves as a gateway to jobs with higher pay, and acknowledges the standardized system of society.

Education is very essential in life no matter what age you are. Every day is a new learning experience, and the possibilities are endless. We are all different people with different mindsets and life experiences. But, we do not need traditional schooling to further our experiences in education. We all can learn various things that schooling will not be able to teach.

Education in my opinion is the constant acquisition of knowledge either in a formal setting or an informal setting. A formal setting where education can be gained will include schools, colleges and universities. At such places there are laid down principles and rules that must be followed and overall, teaching is done in a much organized manner. The informal setting include our homes, workplaces, and in our communities. Teaching is done in an informal manner in this kind of setting but at the end of the day, important values and ideals are learnt that shapes up one’s life positively.

Formal education is a system of organized education with a set curriculum regarding content, objectives, and methods, which is usually well-structured. It involves teachers, a student body, and a school. There is a program and there are laws in place that teachers and students must abide by and student progress assessed at various phases of learning in order to progress to the next stage. According to Nelson Mandela “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” Formal education has been implemented on a global scale and can therefore be considered a language that is understood world-wide, and allows nations to interact with the purpose of selling and trading goods. Thus, it provides the answer to poverty, sickness, war, and the economy of any given country If this is indeed the case than it is the only answer for countries such as Burkina Faso.

It is so important for every student to be involved in the classroom to help with the growth and formation of students. In a classroom, there is a group of individuals who must work together towards a certain goal. The teacher is to help her students and help them grow as not only individuals, but as team-players. It’s the duties of the teacher to understand his or her student’s development and intelligence levels. A teacher must be dedicated in every aspect of his or her work. Once she gets to know his or her students on a more personal level, the teaching will fall into place. He or she can them properly teach the class and accommodate to their needs. Up until college, I received my education at private, catholic schooling

One benefit of a formal education is it teaches a person to look at the world with a multi-facet perspective. There is always a surface view of the world and then there are many underlining concepts at the core of that surface view. For example, take the movie The 40 Year-Old Virgin. On the surface, this is a movie about a 40 year-old man named Andy, who has never been sexually intimate with a woman before and lives a mundane life alone. Andy has been working with the same people for over three years, but it obvious the way his co-workers treat him that he does not have close relationships with any of them. However, this all changes when his co-workers Jay, Cal, and David need an extra person to play poker with after