Journal Entry #5: "The Irony of Education"

Journal Entry #5: "The Irony of Education"

Why is it that in North America, we (as a society) seem to take education for granted? In other countries, students will take any opportunity they can get to improve themselves.

The way we in North America treat education is very different from most of the world. In other countries, children do not have many opportunities to get an education, so they will be very eager to take advantage of one if they are given it. We on the other hand have gone to school for over a decade and I think that it has become more of an inconvenience, for lack of a better word. We as students dread when the weekend is over, and love Fridays because it means the beginning of the weekend. Students will skip classes to go hang out in the smoke pit, and take unnecessary days off just to avoid going to school. Students who come here from other countries usually (at the risk of reinforcing a stereotype) achieve very good grades. This is because they realize what an amazing opportunity they are receiving, the same one we are taking for granted.

I think that we have taken education for granted because it is so readily available to us. We are told we have to go to school, and that we have to go five days a week, while people in other countries may not go to school at all. Many of us in North America are able to get a job very easily, and although they may not be the best jobs, they give us the money we need. Other countries, such as Africa (again, unfortunately at the risk of offending and reinforcing a stereotype) do not have many available jobs. People do not have a way to earn money to provide for their family (It is extremely difficult to say this and not come off as ignorant). I’m sure these people would love the opportunity to get an education, and be able to get a great job because of it.

The same thing could be said about many things we have. We throw away food when we’re full, while those in other countries starve to death. We turn up the heat in our house if we are too cold, while there are people who have no home at all. We should learn to stop taking what we have for granted, because there are millions of people who would love to have the opportunities we are given everyday.