A Take on Education

I am super excited to write about this topic because I have learned so much about learning. Very few people will deny that education is a beautiful thing. There are so many different things we humans can become educated on: what is happening in the world, how things operate, math, English, the solar system, history, how to write, how to play a sport, how to read. We are constantly becoming more educated about everything every day, and we may not even realize or consider it "education." But education goes beyond English, math, science, and history classes. Education is one of the biggest influences on our beliefs and how we live our lives.

I was always a decent student in high school, and I say decent because I had the capabilities, got good grades, and was in high-level classes, but I was definitely also an outgoing kid in high school, and I did not see the true value of my education at the time. There is a current “trend” in my generation where people love to say that education is not important; people preach it and people support it. I cannot even lie—I used to believe this until I decided at the last minute to go to college, and I became more educated.

I am a big supporter of those who choose not to attend college and go straight into their careers or other paths; if college is optional, it is for a reason, which is why I will not sit here and try to convince anyone to go to college. Frankly, I was on this same path until a last-minute decision, so I understand. However, I do believe the way our generation perceives education almost as a joke could be very harmful, and this is where I believe a problem lies.

I had some amazing teachers in high school. I had some teachers who inspired me and taught me things I needed to know. High school education is so important because it teaches the “basics” and should leave young adults with an understanding of the importance of education. Our teachers do so much for us already; they are the providers of the education we need! We must be the supporters, and I wish I had realized this more in high school because it is something I definitely would have spoken about.

I believe every issue or challenge we face in our lives is caused by a root problem that society often fears to unravel because blaming something else and looking for a simple solution is the easiest way. A simple, quick fix may be an easy headline to repost, a pill to take, and so on. I believe there are many problems in our society and arguments right now that result from a lack of trust in education and a lack of education in general.

I took a break this fall from a lot of social media apps I was very active on and recently, these past few months, got some of them back. I feel a much healthier connection with social media now because I think I am ready to be on it, now that I have a better understanding of who I am. But some things I see now really make me laugh. These stupid headlines everyone is reposting because all of a sudden people who are not educated are reading a headline and believing it! It is absolutely insane because, first of all, they are not even educated on the issue at hand and, second, they have clearly zero education on what our media looks like nowadays. There is so much crap out there, and I know people say this all the time, but I do not think people understand how severe it really is. Everyone is calling themselves a journalist nowadays! I took a class on persuasion and the media and was mind-blown to learn how crazy the media actually is.

I really took my education seriously this year and, sure, I am no nursing major, maybe my classes were easier than that, but I did not know what I wanted to do. Instead, I knew what I was interested in. I wanted to simply learn about things I enjoy this year, and I wanted to take my education more seriously. It is so funny that we define how intelligent someone is based on what classes they are in and the level they participate in as well. I am so thankful for some of my high school teachers that pushed me to be intelligent even when I did not want to be, but it was not until college that I discovered it for myself. I wish being smart and educated on so many different things was the cool standard in high school, and honestly, I wish people who can receive a good education understood how lucky they are to do so and what opportunities that can provide for them.

We often connect knowledge and education to a career, and that is what I think is the main problem here. If we do not stay educated and receive quality education on everyday issues, what is happening in our world, and in the classroom, this is where good people with good intentions clash. For example, there are so many good-hearted people in this world who talk about politics without having a clue what the true issue at hand is. Do people understand how complicated politics are? For one to jump to and share a conclusion about an issue at hand is almost ignorant to me; they just want to piss someone off. Are they even sharing the truth? Do they even know if they are? And where is their “truth” coming from?

If we do not stay educated, and I do not mean just in the classroom, if we do not stay educated about our world, daily lives, those around us, our communities, how things work, etc., this is where good people will clash with good people. People just immediately think that since they have good intentions, their uneducated opinion is correct. Why would two good-hearted humans ever need to argue? It does not make sense to me. You are arguing with someone who has pure intentions. We see this in the two-party system especially, and it is ridiculous. We give bad people with bad intentions a boost when we do this! Including the political leaders we are literally posting bad things about. Any press is good press! We must accept and learn together. Posting passive-aggressive political posts is horrible. Stop. That. Shit. Educate maturely because this shit is not a joke. Stop giving the poor leaders and poor-intentioned people what they want! As a society, we need to wake up and realize that we are the individual and team change to anything we fight or argue about. We are all a country, a union, and a team. Although do not be afraid to be wrong, we will get tricked by fake news and information our whole lives, but take the time to learn how to decipher it from the real. But also, if we are not sharing information in a passive-aggressive way, there should be no problem with re-educating someone on what the actual truth is. Do not be afraid to speak up, do not be afraid to be wrong, but be afraid to hurt. This is real.