Essays

According to the Oxford English Dictionary one of the definitions of the word 'education' is: 'The systematic instruction, schooling or training given to the young in preparation for the work of life.'

Although this is an accurate description of what an actual education may be, there is a great deal more to the process of becoming educated than the actual instruction and schooling one may receive. If you ask a person in high school or college exactly why he is in school his response would probably have something to do with 'getting an education.' Is that really why he is there? The next question you may ask is "what are you going to do with your education?" The response would undoubtedly include something about 'getting a good job' or perhaps 'to make a lot of money.'

There is no guarantee that getting a high school 'education' is going to get you anywhere. A student may spend eight years between high school and college getting an 'education." He can graduate from college with A's in every class, but still, this 'education' means nothing.

Good grades, which by today's standards are an indication of an educated individual, are usually very helpful in getting a good job. But alone, good grades are a completely unfair indication of how a person will perform under the pressures of the real world. Instead of looking at a person's grades during a job interview and deciding whether that person is eligible for a particular position, why not try something realistic?

To determine a particular person's 'education' why not allow the individual to apply what he knows to his position in the workplace. This is the true test of what an education is.

Education is an important factor in our lives, but the past, present, and future of education is changing. Early schools were combination classes with a variety of age groups as students. Almost each individual was given an equal amount of personal help from the teacher.. Also, life wasn't as complicated as it is now. One teacher would teach the whole class a limited variety of subjects such as arithmetic and English. Education was just easier.

Nowadays, school not only is a place to learn, it's a place to stress out.

Pressure is constantly put upon students to get excellent academic grades. It's human nature to succeed, but the pressure put on by the teachers, parents, peers, and colleges on tiny tots is a heavy load to handle. The reason behind this is that our education system is grossly inadequate in meeting the standards of education that many other countries have developed. Combined with this is the fact that the educational system is not providing an equal or quality education to all students across the country.

Education should be provided for all children and authority with accountability should be given to educators and success should be rewarded with necessary.

Teachers should be encouraged to challenge students to reach their full potential, rather than minimum competency. In this regard, tracking of students is being eliminated so that all students will be challenged, rather than just those who are gifted. Similarly, success should be rewarded with recognition and incentives to further encourage progress for teachers and students.