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How Important is Education?

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Posted by Dr. J on Oct 6, 2010 in Editorial | 4 comments

How Important is Education?

How Important is Education? Well, it really depends on your personal outlook.  If you grew up in a household where the aura of education was a constant in your culture, then it goes without saying how important it is to you.  But, if you grew up and books were rare sights around your house, dinner conversations were non-existent, no one every asked you your opinion, and survival was the key family motivator, then, most likely, the thought of education didn’t even make it on your priority list.

The concept of education unfortunately has an elitist history and, in many quarters,  is often thought of as a privilege and not a right.  Education is a wholistic phenomenon…meaning you can be formally education – from kindergarten to college and/or you can be informally education – a self learner, more motivated to learning on your own than having some teacher telling you what you should and should not know.  Both methods of learning are of equal value, both constitute how we learn in America.

Yet, like everything else in this country, education is subject to class warfare.  When all is said and done…education is a human right and access to the very best should not be determined by how much money you have.  We have public libraries all around the country, bursting at the seams with a wealth of knowledge and, most importantly, free to everyone…but you do need some skills, some digital and information literacy skills,  in terms of maximizing its access and knowledge utilization potential.

And where can you get these skills?  Now that is an excellent question.  If you are in college, you go to your reference librarian in your college’s library.  If you are in the workplace, try the corporate library if they have one or you go to a public library. In some cases, certain cities have specialized public branches that have a  particular focus such as business or law.  Just ask your local public librarian.

And for heaven’s sake, don’t be intimidated by the librarian…they are human, just like you and me…some with great personalities and some a little cranky, but information experts, nonetheless.  They are the gatekeepers of the Information Society, they know how to access information from anywhere around the universe… and information is power! That’s what Ben Kingsley said to Robert Redford in one of my all time favorite movies, “Sneakers”.  And when you think about it, it does resonate!

Now, how important is education…perhaps you should ask yourself, “how empowered do I want to be in life”…that should give you something to think about!

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4 Responses to “How Important is Education?”

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    March 27, 2010 at 3:53 pm

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