Education Defined - Research Paper Example

 Defining education is a very tough task. Every person defines the word differently. According to the dictionary, education is defined as the act or process of imparting or acquiring general knowledge, developing the powers of reasoning and judgment, and generally of preparing oneself or others intellectually for mature life (http://dictionary.reference.com, Education). The World Bank defined education as a fundamental building block of human development and is and one of the strongest instruments for reducing poverty, improving health, gender equality, peace, and stability (http://web.worldbank.org, Education). 1 Education is the process of learning and knowing, which is not restricted to our school text-books (http://lifestyle.iloveindia.com, Importance of Education). It is a holistic process and continues through our life (http://lifestyle.iloveindia.com, Importance of Education). Thus taking the definitions given by our sources, we can say that education is a continuous process of acquiring knowledge to prepare oneself or others for the future. 2 The Importance of Education Education makes a better citizen (http://lifestyle.iloveindia.com, Importance of Education). Through education, we will know our history and culture and absorb those values taught. It opens our mind and develops our skills and capabilities. Education allows us to understand our duties as a citizen and uphold us to follow these duties. A good citizen knows how to do his duties and responsibilities. I believe that through education, a person acquires the knowledge to understand and recognize his value as a citizen of the country. 3 Another significance of education is that it ensures a productive future (http://lifestyle.iloveindia.com, Importance of Education). As defined, it is a continuous process and futuristic in character. Once a person receives a good education, he gets a secure future. A person is productive once he acquires new skills and talents through education. It is well acknowledged that education is a way for a better future. An educated man is guaranteed to a future full of opportunities to work. The jobs and professions require education as one of the basic prerequisites before a person can be hired. Each position requires a different standard or level of education. Thus a person’s future career greatly depends on his education. 4 Education opens new vistas (http://lifestyle.iloveindia.com, Importance of Education). It has the capability to open new vistas for us. Our education teaches us to expand our outlook and it widens our mental capacity to understand different point of views aiming for a greater enlightenment. Being educated, we are trained to accept and respect varying opinions and outlook of other people. Each person has his own stand and ideals to live. Our education helps us understand these variances in life. 5 Education helps spread awareness and in decision-making (http://lifestyle.iloveindia.com, Importance of Education). Education teaches us to distinguish right from wrong. It gives us the right answers. Decision making can be a very tough and challenging process. Since it is a fundamental part of our life, education enables us to take the right decision and prevent losses. 6 Another importance of education is that it bolsters confidence (http://lifestyle.iloveindia.com, Importance of Education). When a person is educated, he develops his self-confidence. A person with confidence shows he has belief in his self and his capabilities. Education helps us strengthens our self belief that we can face any challenges ahead of us. By relying to our capabilities, we are ready to take any risk and conquer all the tests in our life. 7 Education and the Future Our future greatly depends in our education. Our education is a very important tool in life. This is a key to our future and our success. We desire to achieve the goals we dream in our lives. Without education, people wouldn’t have high developed skills and talents that would help them become successful both in our careers, family, in making right decisions in life and become aware of our environment (Colo, De Guzman, Paras, Taban, n.d.). One can safely say that a person is not in the proper sense until he is educated (Colo, De Guzman, Paras, Taban, n.d.). 8 Education plays a vital role to each person. It opens the door of success and serves a milestone to our dreams. It is a lifelong process that includes both formal instruction and broad range of experiences which is the result of society’s need to prepare its young minds for a future role (Colo, De Guzman, Paras, Taban, n.d.). The best way to reach career success is to prepare a strategy and set our ambitions. Education helps us accomplish our goals in the future. A person with a good education can change careers and these opportunities are not limited unlike to those without education. 9 Education in the Philippines Philippines is a country that has one of the highest literacy rates in Asia and in the world. The literacy rate of the Filipinos reached 93%% in 2006. This is the reason why Filipinos are in demand all over the world. English remains to be the primary language used in schools and universities. Primary education consists of grades 1 to 6 and secondary education has four levels. Most universities and colleges offer 4-year degree courses to be taken either from 2 semesters per year or 3 to 4 semesters per year. The Filipino culture highly regards Education as an important factor to be successful in life (www.spainexchange.com, The Education System in the Philippines). 10 It is said that the more and better educated the people are, the greater the chances of economic development (Meinardus, 2003). This is taken from the human capital theory that the economic development of a nation is a function of the quality of its education. In our world today, investment in human capital has become a condition for international competitiveness (Meinardus, 2003). However, Philippines is suffering from crisis of public education. The Philippines society is footing the bill for education of millions of people, who spend the better part of their productive years abroad (Meinardus, 2003). Also, there remains a problems regarding educational opportunities in the country. Meinardus (2003) quoted that one of a Filipino columnist wrote that "Education has become part of the institutional mechanism that divides the poor and the rich." Thus education in the Philippines greatly needs to be given attention. The government should pay importance to education of its citizens and make sure that they are provided with the best quality and standard since the citizens’ future greatly depends on it and country’s future relies on its citizens. 11 References: Colo, E., De Guzman, J., Paras, K., Taban, A., Importance of Education. (n.d.). Web. 21 April 2011 “Education.” http://dictionary.reference.com, N.d. Web 21 April 2011 “Education.” http://web.worldbank.org, N.d. Web. 21 April 2011 “Importance of Education.” http://lifestyle.iloveindia.com, N.d. Web 21 April 2011 Meinardus, Ronald. The Crisis of Public Education in the Philippines. (2003). Web. 21 April 2011 “The Education System in the Philippines.” www.spainexchange.com, (n.d.). Web 20 April 2011 [Please refer to the answers below in case these are needed. If not, please disregard this.] Answer #4 The paragraphs are not difficult to summarize because each paragraph has a specific subject matter tackled. The paragraph should not be combined because each paragraph speaks of a specific topic. (No new topic sentence necessary) Answer #6 The summaries are fall to its own place. The numbers of the paragraph corresponds to its importance in the block. The blocks for me are in the best logical order. If there might be changes, it depends on how people value or see the importance of education for them. Thus number 3 to 7 can be interchange. Answer to #7 The new subject is incorporated to the new one. Thus the bigger the bracket is, the greater is its scope of subject matter. The old subject therefore in included or part of the new subject. Read More