Education Paves the Way

One of the things that I know to be true is that education opens the door to a world of opportunities. Education comes in many forms but is broken into two major categories--informal and formal. The most well educated of us will have a good mix of informal and formal education. We will be able to code shift as necessary and navigate through many arenas.

Informal education can be absorbed from what you learn from reading, tasting, seeing, hearing, smelling, feeling, experiencing and so on. It is not based on academics or what you learn in school. How you "read" people, your sense of discernment, your "sixth sense"--these are all examples of informal education. Sometimes we discount informal education and dismiss it, but our elders know the value of "common sense" as it is often known. Good old fashioned common sense can help you make thoughtful decisions that may benefit you and perhaps your larger community. In fact, informal education can be the thing that whets your appetite for learning. In many ways, it works in tandem with formal education.

As for formal education, the benefits can be endless. You can learn about other cultures, expand your mind, earn degrees, be granted titles, secure licensing and increase your earning potential. The process of participating in formal education allows you to interact with different people and maybe even travel the world. With rates of high joblessness, many of us may not see the benefit of getting into debt to get an education. The possibility of not getting a job is cause for alarm, but it still stands that you have a greater chance of getting a job if you have a college degree. But let me give you a piece of advice--try to do something that you love.

Another key element in formal education is developing critical thinking skills based on inquiry (asking questions), analysis (interpreting information) and synthesis (combining findings into intelligent output). Being able to converse in an educated manner is an underestimated skill. Engaging in an intelligent exchange of ideas with equally yoked peers is something to behold. Trust me.

Considering this, a high premium is placed on education. Or rather, there should be. Unfortunately, in many segments of our community, when we pursue degrees, we are considered as sellouts. But it’s never the people who have made it who promote this notion. It’s the folks who feel disconnected and disenfranchised from traditional means of education. Listen, education is no free ticket to financial wealth or the answer to all things. However, the pursuit of intellectualism is a lost art. There are plenty of educated fools in this world. Learning for knowledge’s sake, needs to be brought back to the center of our culture. We need to recognize that folks DIED for the right to get an education and far too many of us are not taking advantage of these opportunities. I’ll be the first one to admit that the educational system has flaws, but you have to be in the system in order to fix the system. You can’t fix it from the outside.

P.S.: If you need a reminder about the power of education, see this earlier post.

Finally, let me leave you with this quote from Marian Wright Edelman: Education is for improving the lives of others and for leaving your community and world better than you found it.