Success and Good Citizenship: The Purposes of an Education

With poverty and unemployment rates at levels never before seen, regardless of background or education, why then do we still find it necessary to educate ourselves for no obviously apparent reason?  John Milton once stated, “A complete and generous education fits a man to perform justly, skillfully, and magnanimously all the offices, both public and private, of peace and war."  Some people find that just having an education entitles them to a great job or unlimited financial stability, while others without one complain that they can not get further in life without it

            Late night talk show host and comedian Jay Leno uses his “Jay-Walking” skits, wandering around asking people about the history of politics in the United States, to prove the lack of minor education.  “American Politics through JayWalks- A Documentary”, Jay compiles multiple videos in an effort to summarize this growing problem.  One woman is asked, “How many presidents have we had?”  Her immediate response is a sad “200”! How is this even possible! Honestly, my original guess was a couple off the actual total, but nowhere near this outrageously depressing answer. When another woman is asked, “Who is considered the founding father of our country?” she thinks for about half a second and answers “Jesus Christ”. What is our citizenry coming to when they can’t even tell you who George Washington is anymore? These people are going around thinking that they are upstanding members of our society when they are doing nothing more than contributing to the dumbing down of our culture.  

           Many people of great intelligence have been trying to make arguments for and against pursuing a higher level of education.  All the opposing views can be confusing and sometimes haphazardly ignored.  My goal in this essay will be to express the two main purposes for an education: first, why a citizen of this openly diverse country should desire an education for their own personal gain, and, second, why an education is good for the society they belong to.

A Personal Reason for an Education: Success

            A personal reason for obtaining a higher education is to excel financially, have a means of monetary gain from the education you receive. Finishing in a better position than where you started. It has been proven many times over that while having just a high school education, or even leaving school before graduation, can get you into the workplace, working minimum wage and barely being able to pay your bills is a choice that a lot of people make. While you may have the potential to work your way through the system and wind up in a position of management or power, you stand a better chance of getting that job to begin with having even just a bachelor’s degree. In the essay, “Canto. Locura, y Poesia”, Mexican-American writer and professor Olivia Castellano says, “I saw the despair that poverty and hopelessness had etched in the faces of young Chicano men…” (89). These faces, usually strong and vibrant, had been wrought down by the long hours, menial pay and the repetition of going “back and forth on the dusty path between Comstock and the Southern Pacific Railroad station”(89) knowing that there was no true hope of bettering the situation. So many people are now watching these things on a daily basis. Watching their parents go to jobs they hate and have constant complaints about. Mainly griping about the fact they wish they got better pay and that they didn’t have any other choice after high school.  She had put forth in her mind at a young age that she would not become a stereotypical member of her community. Putting all her time and effort into learning the things she needed to know to rise above the clichés thrust upon her and making it in a different world. Doing these things made it possible for her to become “a walking contradiction” (89). Diving so deep into the belief she was meant for better things got her to the point of being a full on English professor, without even having a Ph.D. Attaining wealth in multiple forms; through knowledge, something her peers and predecessors had not believed possible, while that knowledge afforded her the job placement ability that got her away from the ghettos and poverty stricken regions that she had resided in as a child. 

            With all the proof out there of how an education is good for an individual, why don’t more people pursue it?  The College Board publication Education Pays 2010: The Benefits for Higher Education for Individuals and Society show that people without a college education are about three times more likely to be unemployed than those with at least a bachelor’s degree or higher. Such staggering statistics should be all the reasons a person needs. Hearing people on a daily basis talk about how they don’t even have a high school diploma is infuriating.  If the proper effort is put toward achieving these goals, there is a lesser chance of dropping out, getting a job you don’t want or like and regretting the choices made.  Financially, an education is a great means to an end when it entails making your own choices and decisions for bettering your place in society and ought to be plenty of motivation. 

A Public Reason for an Education: Being a Good Citizen

            Being a good citizen, being able to give back to your country or government, or knowing about the government you come from, are vital parts of being educated. To many people today cannot tell you about our countries origin. What if something was to happen and you needed to educate future generations on what and how the country you grew up in was founded? Would it be possible? Former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt speaks about such a problem in her paper “Good Citizenship: The Purpose of Education” she proclaims, “when asked by an Englishwoman how our government functioned, I was as completely floored as if she had asked me to describe the political events on the moon!”(2)  In this she is saying that while being astonished that another woman has asked her about the government works, she is also amazed that, as a woman, it was believed she would know about the government. At that point, women did not have the right to vote and were thought not to care about such things while, “there was something dark and sinister”(2) surrounding the political realm, that it was considered to risqué for women to be a part of and not knowing about the goings on was more beneficial. Not knowing these things now is a disgrace to what the country has strived for as a political and financial superpower.  Being able to explain to someone how your country’s government institutions, laws and rights and political process is about should be fundamental to everyone born and raised within the borders. The “JayWalking” documentary shows it best. Make a point to know about all things in your country. It makes you more informed and you will be viewed in a way that is beneficial to your society.  As a person who cares about where they live.

Conclusion: My Personal Purpose to Getting an Education

          As this paper has shown multiple reasons for receiving an education, success, being a good citizen and financial stability in a down economy, my personal goals are always the purpose for doing anything. Obtaining a college education is something I have desired for a very long time.  I always had the grades, I always had the ambition. A lack of focus and a few bad choices , like going to only two of my four classes a day for two straight weeks(pre-calculus and choir) got me kicked out of high school a mere two months before graduation. Receiving that diploma had meant the world to me. None of my brothers and sisters graduated and attaining that goal would have started me down a better track than any of them had afforded themselves.  After my unfortunate upheaval from the school system, through no fault but my own, I submerged myself into the working world. Going from job to job, earning minimum wage and watching my friends go off to college and achieving the jobs they wanted was like being slapped across the face, so I went for it.

            Grayson County College; applied, registered for classes and took all the placement tests required for entry. All stars were aligning and all things falling into place, so I thought. I applied for financial aid, and was denied.  It turns out that I was making too much money working in the kitchen of the local Chili’s to receive any funding.  $8.00 an hour, barely making my rent or bills but was viewed as too financially independent for assistance. I gave up immediately.  I continued down the perpetual path I was already on, hopping from job to job for low pay and very little self-respect.  It was ten years before I tried again. Worst job ever, in regards to the pay.  The work, while commendable, had me on the verge of begging for handouts. Only the coercive nature of my girlfriend at the time, pushing me to reapply for financial aid, did I find the perfect timing to completely better my situation. With a poverty level income, I was approved for a grant and a loan. Not being the type of person to let opportunity pass by, I set my sights on what I had wanted for so long. Choosing classes and a major was the easy part; actually putting the work in was the toughest part of all. Knowing I was now in control of bettering my situation through achieving something I knew would create that betterment. While still being able to do something none of my siblings had been able to do for themselves, getting a diploma from a scholastic institution. A degree. Doing this is all the purpose I need. Making my own life better than it is!

My College and Life Goals!

       Hello everyone, my name is John B. Forstner, Jr. I am majoring in business management with the hopes of using it to my advantage to open a restaurant or catering service. Cooking is my true passion. In this endeavor, I would love to be able to provide opportunities for cooking classes for the kitchen illiterates, offer myself and my time to underprivileged children with a place to go and use their free time learning a valuable life skill. While also providing new job growth to areas that needs it.

        Going to college has always been a major goal for me. Upon completion, I will be the first one of my siblings to graduate from higher education. Which is a major step seeing as how none of us even graduated high school. This course will be very good for me in learning how to properly
apply my words while using my hands in the ways I already know.

        I chose NCTC because I have heard many good things about the school, staff and curriculum. The smaller campus feel is great for me. It helps with having not been in any classes for about 16 years. An added bonus is the proximity to my residence and the ease of getting here. I am a strong believer in public transportation and DCTA has services for being a student.