Essay #2

Education is Wisdom and Power

 Education. What is it? What does it do? Why do I need one? These are things that come up in our minds when we are young children and don’t recognize the importance of an education. Growing up I always remember being told that getting an education for myself was important and vital to my success, although I never questioned the full importance of an education. I always remember my parents enforcing me to try my hardest and to aim to be successful in everything I did especially when came to getting an education. Maybe that has to do with my parents both being immigrants into the United States, my father who only obtained a sixth-grade education whereas my mother graduated high school and is still pursuing achieving a higher education despite having to work and her age. Due to this I am pursuing a higher education, to be successful.  Although, for people who are undocumented or have parent’s who have faced being undocumented, education is not only knowing things it is about doing things with that knowledge. For many undocumented student’s it becomes a way for them to face struggles, in order to better their communities and their families. Education is knowledge and with knowledge there is power.

Education is also very unequal and biased. Education is something that is not always the same and is something that is constantly fluid and all subjects are taught differently. Due to this, many immigrants student’s are expected not be successful and fear the educational system. Though throughout Johnathan Perez’s , American’s By Heart he discusses how they are achieving academic success and becoming active citizens in their communities, through clubs and other organizations to make an overall impact. Perez also discusses  how if these students recognize the struggle of their community is faced with they will then be motivated to make a difference.

For many schools and educational institions, it’s not just about the education they can offer their student’s. It has become a place to create a community with strong diversity and cultural awareness. Due to this enrichment of education has not only about teaching student’s how to think critically while actively engaging, but it has become a social movement to bring attention to these undocumented students. More or less education has become a tool to liberation of oppression to these students, due to their legal status in America.

Education is defined as “the process of receiving or giving systematic instruction” despite this being true education also entails having to be able to learn and gain knowledge. Education and knowledge do have a direct correlation and to undocumented students is more than just getting a diploma or degree it is about being able to use that knowledge in breaking barrier’s in the community they derive from. Knowledge and an Education become the key to liberation and hopefully a way to become a citizen of our country. The importance of education to me is not about being liberated, it is about pushing myself to be successful. In Kozol’s piece Education In America,  he use’s an example of a student named Mariah, who seeks taking Advanced Placement class, but is restricted because she is forced to take vocational classes such as knitting and sewing.Mariah then talks about not wanting to be a reflection of her mother, because her mother has a sewing company and doesn’t want to follow those foot steps that have already been made for her. I have experienced something similar to this experience when I was attending an arts high school and was not allowed to take an Advanced Placement class due to the fact that I learning disability, although this doesn’t directly corelet, it reminds me of the feeling I had when I was told that I was not good enough to take to take those rigorous course I saw my peer’s taking. This pushed me to wanna be successful and push to want to take  these course because I knew that I would be successful in those course. This then reflects Mariah’s response to the question when she is asked if sewing owners wouldn’t hire their own children, she tells her peer she wouldn’t because  ” they can grow beyond themselves”.

Throughout our education, it feels as it has become like forcing feeding knowledge down students throats. If we continue to have our education system be like this are they truly learning? I remember throughout my educational experience that I felt as if I was just memorizing ideas and concepts to say I knew them and pass the test. This idea is called the “banking concept” , Freire stated in his article, The Banking Concept of Education that teachers give information to the students and where then their students  take it as absolute truth and only memorize what they are being told. This does not help immigrants students really grasp knowledge all though many of them have caught on to this pattern and Ideal that education is what you give you gain. This has also cause immigrant students to be more driven and motivated.

 Education is constantly evolving, its importance in our society only grows although it’s accessibility has become limited Education is an umbrella, it does have an exact meaning, but is used differently by all. For undocumented students, education becomes a tool or guide to help them gain knowledge socially, economically and culturally. Achieving an education for them is resource to become better people and potentially citizens of the United States because they are educated on their surroundings. Education is not only a way to better ourselves, it allows us to be informed in order to make an impact in our community, our nation or even our world.To me education is important and serves as a part of my daily life, I am always learning and seeking knowledge. Although I am privileged in obtaining an education does not by any means mean I am going to take advantage of it or the opportunities offered to me.  Education is knowledge and with knowledge there is power.