Education in Democracy

I think the value of education in democracy is crucial. Education serves as the great equalizer of people from all walks of life, social classes, financial status’, and that is what democracy is all about: giving everyone in society an equal chance at accomplishing their dreams and aspiring to their future careers. Education is most definitely necessary because while it is a major equalizer in society, education also serves as a huge stepping stool to climb the rungs of the workforce.

For example, a student can earn her CNA (certified nurse aide) certification in one semester, her LVN (licensed vocational nurse) certification in 2 years, and her RN (registered nurse) certification in 4 years. The responsibilities, place in society, as well as payscale and cost of education increases exponentially with each certification she receives. The great thing about living in a democracy is that she can work immediately after she earns her first certification and use the paycheck she earns from utilizing that certification in her job to pay for her college.

The sad thing about this is that many people have intentions to pursue more education, but the people who need the stepping stool of education the most are often the ones who are on the lower end of the socioeconomic scale. These people are more likely to be plagued with issues like deadbeat significant others, more children than they can afford to feed, and aging parents who are unable to care for themselves due to chronic health issues stemming from poor life choices more than people in any other walk of life.

These issues often become obstacles which are thrown into the student’s path, and she must make a decision that will define whether she follows the same patterns of her parents and grandparents by working a minimum-wage job using a certification obtained during high school or whether she will remember that the minimum-wage job is temporary and that she has higher goals and intends to climb the socioeconomic ladder and create a better life for her children and set a standard of living for the future lineage of the family.

On the other hand, as my mother used to say, “you know who has the power to affect every single person in the city? The garbage collector: because if the garbage collector decides to go on strike, every person in the city, from the Ph.D. student to the EMT to the aging greeter at Walmart will be inconvenienced.” It is important to remember that while doctors, award-winning novelists, and Oscar-nominated actors and actresses are considered to be “necessary members of society”, the employee working the graveyard shift at McDonald’s is just as important. Not everyone wants to work up to the top tier of the socioeconomic scale but education serves to equal the playing field so that anyone is able to do so.

The value of research universities is that they serve to pave the road to future groundbreaking discoveries. Students who are at universities who are leaders in research are exposed to the masterminds of their fields and are able to be inspired and motivated by the current research being done right in front of their eyes, and sometimes, in their very own classes! The value of land-grant universities is that they are able to provide higher education in locations that are rural and possibly not as wealthy as the big cities where privileged private students attend classes. Land-grant universities reach students who may be first-generation college students and allow them to pursue their goals in what is often a very cost-effective way.