An Essay of Yesterday

The following is an essay I wrote when I was in my third year taking up Business Education. My classmates were so proud of me back then when this essay bagged the top place. I ran through my old files today, and found the original manuscript. I have to post it to my blog not to brag, but to have it preserved. To be honest, I really find it funny and dumb =). Hehehe, Im posting it as is, so I apologize for any wrong grammar and i know most of you can write better...

EDUCATION FOR ALL: A COLLECTIVE RESPONSIBILITY OF EDUCATION AND FAMILIES

"Education is life, growth, social process, and reconstruction of human experience.” A perfect definition, my professor used to say, a definition given by the great Dewey. If education is life, everyone has the right to for life. If education is growth, definitely everybody has the right to grow and develop. If education is a social process and a perpetual reconstruction of experience, without a doubt all of us have to right to posses those. It is, therefore, logical to conclude that education is for all, a right of every individual living in our society. However, reality seems to show a paradoxical truth with regards to education.

Children, instead of spending time in classrooms, spend time wandering on the street pursuing a mendicant life begging, or selling sampaguitas. Young adults, instead of consuming precious hours on colleges or universities, stay at home as istambays or go gambling and using drugs. Their parents, instead of motivating their children to go to school, send their children looking for a living, “gastos lang yan” they may say. Yes, there is a big problem here. Instead of a right, eduction became a privilege, a privilege for those who need not worry where to find food to satisfy painful hunger. Poverty because of being uneducated, being uneducated because of poverty. A self-sustaining dilemma.

It is never too late, however, it is never too late. If education is a social process, it therefore has the responsibility of interacting within the society. It has the obligation of providing the sufficient education for all. Educators, as pioneers of education, must posses the correct viewpoint when it comes to their profession. They must not only view educating as a source of income, but as a noble way of helping others. “It is never enough to give a man a fish, he may only eat for a day. Teaching a man how to fish, he may eat for the rest of his life.” That adage by Confucius is applicable. We will not be helping people just by continuous provision of what they need for a day, food, clothes, or the like. Instead, by providing them with quality education, it will enable them to learn how to live. The statement “education for all” must also motivate all educators to educate without prejudice, reaching those who need learning but lacks the sufficient funds to provide for the expenses of such learning. It is our responsibility.

But it is not the educators’ sole responsibility. Education, however, begins within the family. It is where an individual first learn how to deal with other individuals. As the primary unit of the society, the family and its members must be aware that it is their duty to provide the basic learning for their young ones. They must also motivate their children to value education as one values his or her life, for education is life.

Education, in order to be appreciated by all, must be provided by the family and the community. It is a collective responsibility. Its like doing things with both hands, not just the left, not just the right. We must put in our minds that everyone has the right for education. Everyone has the responsibility to provide education. By helping each other to attain sufficient and quality education, we can expect a great change within a reasonable period of time. “Education for All” will be not just a slogan, but also a sweet success that we shall reach.