Education
Education is one of the most essential tools in the society, which aims at arming people with the basic skill and knowledge on how to handle various aspects of their day to day activities, such as their intellectual selves, their careers, relation with other people, as well as the basic management of their day to day lives. I come from Shoreline, Washington states and my teenage neighbors and friends are some of the people who have made me understand the true meaning and essentiality of education, considering the fact that all of them have come from different continents and backgrounds, as they search for quality education that will assist them in future, in making a societal impact back at home. Sharon, twenty one from Kenya, East Africa and Hassan, twenty two from Afghanistan; have one thing in common: their home environment has not been convenient enough for them to study, and have sought to seek asylum in the United States, consequently, settling in Shoreline.
According to Sharon, Africa is one of the most affected continents, especially, in terms of development and advancement, particularly through education. Considering the fact that Africa is a conservative continent that is richly indulged in traditional beliefs, practices and values, there is minimal room for development, particularly, in the incorporation of modern ways through which people can make their lives easier, for instance, through adopting and embracing technology in their day to day lives. At the same time, these traditional practices have for a long time been detrimental to the development of the continent, particularly in the rural areas. Having come from a rural area herself, her community, the Maasai community, is still embracing detrimental practices, and these include female genital mutilation. As much as many people, especially from the urban regions as well as the educated ones have been highly against the practice, the society has been enforcing it among the people, whereby the young girls who do fail to go through the traditional practice are highly disregarded. Since her mother was forced to go through the practice and lost her sister in the process (as a result of much bleeding) she made a decision to make sure that her daughters will not go through the same, when the approach teenage (since that is the period when the practice is instilled in the young ladies). Sharon’s family moved to the United States in the year 2002.
According to Sharon, the male chauvinistic cultural practices are some of the reasons why the society was going through under developmental aspects. For instance, education among the girl child was neglected, whereby the female child is seen as a domestic figure, which should not be involved in any academic work. Since Sharon’s mother had acquired decent education and graduated at a local university as a Grade 1 teacher, she understood and highly regarded the value of education. With the challenges that she faced in educating Sharon and her younger sister, this compelled her to seek asylum in the United States, and settled in Tacoma, and later in Shoreline. As a result, Sharon has managed to acquire modest education, and is currently in the University of Washington, pursuing a degree in political science. She seeks to make an impact in her African society, particularly in her community, by educating the society on the importance of educating the girl child, based on the fact that the girl child is as equal as the boy child, and both have equal chances of positively impacting on the society in which they live.
Hassan, on the other hand, having grown up and been brought up in Afghanistan in the 1990s and the early 2000’s, his country was at its height of political turmoil, especially, due to the consistent growth of the internationally outlawed Al Shabaab group. As a result, he faced many challenges and inconsistency in education, especially, due to the fact that there was a lot of political instability during the two decades. This led to many students dropping out from school, and seeking alternative activities, in order to cater for their day to day activities. At the same time, the constant fighting and attacks, especially, at public places such as schools, led to many people fearing from their lives, and consequently, dropping out from school.
At the same time, Hassan recalls that most of his age mates, including his elder brother, were forced to join the various political alliances and armies, while others joined the outlawed Al Shabaab. Considering the fact that his parents had had the opportunity to acquire basic education and worked as teachers in the local schools, they sought asylum in the United States, in order to not only educate their two remaining sons, but also find a secure place, as they sought safety for their lives too. Currently, Hassan is pursuing a bachelors’ degree in Mechanical Engineering, at Harvard University, New York.
Having seen the challenges that my friends Hassan and Sharon have been through in their pursuit for education, this presents itself as a challenge to me, as well as other people who have grown up in continents and countries that provide a good environment for education. At the same time, considering the fact that Hassan and Sharon are older than I, I look up to them, especially for motivation in my education. One crucial thing that should be noted, particularly in the developing and the underdeveloped states, is the fact that the government should work hand in hand with the people, particularly at the society level, in supporting education and embracing it as an essential tool in the modern times that we are living in. When the society upholds education, it will not only encourage it among the people, but also ensure that the people understand its relevance in the society.
