Education: Have you been Enlightened Today?

ed·u·ca·tion

ˌejəˈkāSHən/

noun

noun: education; noun: an education

1. 1.

   the process of receiving or giving systematic instruction, esp. at a school or university.

   "a new system of public education"

   • the theory and practice of teaching.

     "colleges of education"
   • a body of knowledge acquired while being educated.

     plural noun: educations

     "his education is encyclopedic and eclectic"
   • information about or training in a particular field or subject.

     "health education"
2. 2.

   an enlightening experience.

   "a day with those kids was an education in patience and forbearance"

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"An education can open many doors!"

"You have to go to school and make good grades, then go to college and get a degree!"

"Your education is important to your future!"

"Your degree will show that you are educated!"

All  my life I have heard one or other statements. I have been taught at a young age that education will be the determining factor of my future success or my ultimate demise. I have been trained to recognize that without an education my capability to function in corporate America would be completely nonexistent. And if I cannot function in that world, I would end up being one of those people who live one penny away from financial ruin.......That's what they told me anyways.

I remember times when I was in high school crying my eyes out because I just didn't understand how to work a math problem. The fear of failing a test was greater than my fear of death. I couldn't be a failure. I had to prove to others that I could be successful, and in order to be successful I had to obtain an education....

Day and night I studied.................Countless hours of sleep were lost because I wanted things to be perfect. Every book that I owned for school purposes was in my backpack....It felt like I was carrying a boulder on my back, but this was the sacrifice I had to make in order to be educated, right?

My whole life, I thought being educated was defined by a piece of paper that you walk across a stage to obtain. I worked my ass off! Dedicated so much time and also gave up so much of my social life just to obtain a piece of paper.....Just so I can be deemed "educated".......But was I really?

I have learned nothing from classroom instructions..... It has been the experiences that have made me into the educated person that I am today. I learned by actions, not by words which were typed in a textbook that was dated back a few years back. I learned by working with others who were in a field in which I wanted to pursue. I learned by engaging in activities with them... I learned by talking to them..... I have been educated by the world.

Too many times, we force children to go to colleges for the simple fact is that we define a college degree as being the means to obtain the status of "educated" but that is WRONG. There are other means to obtain a skill or an experience which will help you excel in life. Too many times we cut down young children and tell them such things as "You are not college material". Do you know what that means to them? That is the equivalent of telling them that they can never be an educated individual because they lack the ability to be a possible college graduate. Everyone wasn't meant to go to college, everyone wasn't meant to be a chef, everyone wasn't meant to be a construction worker, but EVERYONE has the capability of being educated despite their occupation.

We need to change the way we explain education to our kids. There are so many who believe that education, by  means of a college degree, is the only way to have a happy life. And that just isn't true.

It is so much pressure on a young child who believes this....
Imagine a young child who wakes up and studies and then goes to bed and studies every single night because they are afraid to make a B on an exam.......
Imagine someone who misses out on school dances their senior year because they are feverishly trying to apply to ever single college that they think will accept them because they are afraid of not being excepted it into a good school..............
Image someone who takes their own life just because they failed a college class.......

This is what happens when we don't tell people the truth about education........So.......... I guess what I am trying to say is....... Educate yourself........ let the world be your teacher! There are different ways of learning. College is one place, but not the only place.........

Life is supposed to be an enlightening experience.  Have you been enlightened today?

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en·light·en

enˈlītn/

verb

gerund or present participle: enlightening

1.

give (someone) greater knowledge and understanding about a subject or situation.

"Christopher had not enlightened Frances as to their relationship"