Introduction
A significant percentage of the total youth population today is out of school youths. Society has proven that children who remain in school are more successful in life. Educated people can enjoy the benefits of being able to attract well-paying jobs. They are generally more disciplined. They help stabilize the economy by paying taxes. Meaning, they offer great contribution to society. Because of these, children should go to school.
Education serves as a child’s gateway towards a better life. At school, children are taught social skills, developmental skills and mental agility. These are all important for a child to develop conscious decision making skills which he can then use to more effectively navigate the different avenues of life. Amy Kaminsky says, “The development of important social skills as one of the leading reasons to send a toddler to preschool. By interacting with other children at an early age, kids learn how to take turns, how to listen and how to share. Playing with other kids also helps children learn about their own personalities, and their own likes and dislikes. The independence that kids gain in preschool is also a lesson that is hard to learn at home.”(Reasons Why Kids Should Go to School). The objective of this paper is to discuss the benefits of giving children proper and high-quality education and its possible implications on the society.
Ignorance is not always a blessing
There is this famous quote that says how ignorance can be a blessing. Well, in today’s highly competitive job market, grasping the principle that states that “the more ignorant a person is, the more blessed he can become” can only bring a person’s competitiveness down. Lack of education brings about higher illiteracy rates and thus, ignorance.
There are just so many things happening in the world today that people cannot afford to be ignorant anymore. A person actually cannot move around the house and do his ADLs (Activities of Daily Living) without learning how to use the necessary tools, utensils and equipment first. A person cannot go out of his house and travel even to the nearest locations without getting lost if he is not able to read and communicate with people in a clear and understandable manner. Unsurprisingly, all of the required skills and knowledge do the abovementioned things can be acquired by children as early as in their 5th grade. There’s a lot to learn out there and so being ignorant can never be an option.
The Value of Being Educated
The only way to counter illiteracy and ignorance is to learn (Bynner, Schuller, & Feinstein 2). Fortunately, there are a lot of proven and effective ways to learn. One of the most commonly practiced and established ways to learn is by going to school, sitting in a four or more cornered classroom and listening to the instructors’ lectures. This, according to research, is the most efficient way for a population to learn (Ross & Mirowsky 5). Of course, a parent may still resort to other not-so-efficient but more effective ways of educating their child but in developing countries, one could more often see children and youths going to school rather than attending private one-on-one and other specific classes.
Experience is indeed the best teacher. However, children often need guidance especially during the early stages of their learning and development. This is why they are being sent to preschool and primary education institutions to ensure the development of that type of foundation. Without this foundation, they will most probably have a hard time learning through experience in general and more specific aspects of education later on.
Better Job Opportunities
Parents and family councilors keep on reiterating that an individual with higher grades and a better educational background will almost always get more and better job opportunities than an individual who is otherwise. According to recent statistics, this is actually true (Bynner, Schuller, & Feinstein 2). Before, it is common for employers, agencies, and job outsourcers to require that job applicants at least have a secondary school diploma. Now, it’s a totally different story. Before an individual can even be considered for a job position, he has to have a College or University Diploma first. There is actually a big difference between these two scenarios because a secondary education graduate has to study for another three to five years for him to acquire a Bachelor’s Degree and be considered for a position.
This is why the trend now is to finish a college or university degree first before applying for a job because more often than not, those who have the Bachelor’s, Master’s or even Doctoral degrees in their curriculum vitae will get the job. However, obtaining a higher level of education requires more time and resources; at some point, studying even in government-funded schools, colleges and universities is not free. Nevertheless, students do hope that once they graduate and get their Bachelor’s degree, the process of getting that well-paying job will be smoother and a lot easier. Of course it will be, but they still have to compete with other job applicants who also have a Bachelor’s degree, a more unique & job-specific skill set or they won’t be able to get the job position that they yearn. Yes, being educated can increase a person’s chances of landing on a better, higher-than-minimum-wage paying job, but it can never be a guarantee for such type of employment.
Poverty Rate & Economy
Educating youths and younger populations does not only bring personal and familial benefits. It can also benefit the whole country’s economy (Baum & Ma 9). Educational background plays a very important role in the workforce quality of a country. Obviously, countries with a more highly-trained and educated workforce will be able to attract more regional and international business entities and encourage them to invest resources and plant businesses in that particular country. Sooner or later, as long as such process continues, more and more job positions will be available for citizens to fill. The country’s unemployment rate will drop and stabilize at a certain level. All of which would then lead to lower poverty rates and a significant boost to the economy (Johnes & Johnes 123). However, the problem is the time it usually takes a country’s workforce to become educated and competent enough for the type of skills that most regional and international companies require.
Conclusion
It is of utmost importance to educate children and young people. From an economic perspective, they are the inheritors of the current world economy. They have to be literate, educated and competent enough to fill in the jobs that their predecessors once filled. In fact, they are expected to surpass the accomplishments of their predecessors. Unfortunately, they will not be able to achieve such goal without being educated and trained. Education can be considered a child’s ticket to a brighter future. With all the benefits that a person and the whole country could get from keeping a well-educated workforce, it can be seen as win-win situation.
Works Cited
Baum, S., & Ma, J. “Education Pays for Individuals and Society.” Journal of Higher Education Volume 57. 2007. Print. June 2012.
Bynner, J., Schuller, T., & Feinstein, L. “Wider Benefits of Education: Skills, Higher Education and Civic Management.” Zeitschrift fur Padagogik 49. 2003. Print. June 2012.
Johnes, G., & Johnes, J. “International Handbook on the Economics of Education.” Edward Elgar Publishing. 2004. Book. June 2012.
Kaminsky, Amy. "Reasons Why Kids Should Go to School." LIVESTRONG.COM. 23 Sept. 2010. Web. June 2012.
Ross, C., & Mirowsky, J. “Gender and Health Benefits of Education.” The Sociological Quarterly: Official Journal of the Midwest Sociological Society. 2010. Print. June 2012.
