what education means to you essay

UCL School of Management

University college london, grace gaywood | 24 january 2021, what does education mean to you.

Since it was founded in 1826, UCL has been disrupting the status quo and providing quality education and producing leading research. UCL was the first English university to admit students regardless of race, class or religion, and the first to admit women students on equal terms with men. 

At UCL School of Management, our focus is on creating disruptive research and preparing the next generation of creative managers and influential leaders who are able to apply the latest technological developments as a strategic asset for businesses in the complex, interconnected world of the future. 

What does education mean to you?

On International Day of Education, we asked UCL School of Management staff, students and alumni what ‘education’ means to them and why they believe it is so important. 

“Education is the only defense we have against demagogues, fake news, and echo-chambers gradually pushing us into a dystopian reality” Davide Ravasi, Director of the PhD Programme

“Education, while being enjoyable, helps us broaden our horizons by equipping us with the knowledge necessary to better understand our surroundings as well as succeed in today’s world.” Nada Abi, 3rd Year BSc Management Science student 

“Education plays a critical role in modern times. At the micro level, some scholars believe that the education of an individual, different from schooling, is the understanding, appreciation and fulfilment of his or her own pursuit, which is of intrinsic value to the individual. At the macro level, education takes an essential part in the formation of community, culture, country, and country unions. One question that has arisen from the pandemic, is how to include each voice during the process of social development. Perhaps as educators, we must first listen to students’ voices. Then teachers can progressively reduce their role with the increase of students’ ability for independent research, curriculum development and learning and lastly yet most importantly, to believe in students and in ourselves.” Xinlu (Luna) Zheng Administrative Receptionist

“Education is a crucial stepping stone in life, allowing motivated students to explore an area of interest to help better guide them in the right direction in the world of work. It equips them not only with knowledge of a subject, but also with a variety of communication and professional skills that they can carry with themselves throughout the rest of their lives.” Patryk Sobczak Final Year BSc Infromation Management for Business student

“Education is a window of opportunity for a more fulling life.” Magda David Hercheui Programme Director for MSc Management

“A big part of education is about expanding the human mind - both thinking more creatively and being open to the ideas of others. The concept of ‘no-platforming’ speakers with views that challenge our own worries me greatly. It is alien to the very heart of both education and democracy. The day we stop thinking differently is the day we stop evolving.” Simon Hulme Director of MSc Entrepreneurship

“Education is life - you begin at birth and it never actually stops until you die. And it is how you use everything that you learn that shapes you and your pathways and determines whatever you want from life along the way.” Richard Pettinger Professor of Operations and Technology

Education is the only investment with guaranteed results. Without any risks involved, it’s buying your entrance ticket to the future. Mario Vanhoucke Visiting Senior Teaching Fellow and Honorary Senior Research Associate

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What Does Education Mean to You: Empowerment Through Knowledge

Table of contents, a gateway to knowledge, empowerment and personal growth, preparing for an ever-changing world, contributing to society.

• Dewey, J. (1916). Democracy and education: An introduction to the philosophy of education. Macmillan.
• Freire, P. (1970). Pedagogy of the oppressed. Continuum.
• Gardner, H. (2011). Frames of mind: The theory of multiple intelligences. Basic Books.
• Noddings, N. (2003). Caring: A feminine approach to ethics and moral education. University of California Press.
• Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Harvard University Press.

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Essay on the value of education

This essay guide will help you write an essay on the meaning of education.

Define what an education means first

An education by definition is "the act or process of imparting or acquiring general knowledge, developing the powers of reasoning and judgment, and generally of preparing oneself or others intellectually for mature life." This essay will impart upon my readers my opinion of what education means to me. I will extend the value of an education not only within that gained by a "formal education" but also the value of an "informal education" and explain how life in itself if a vehicle for education.

Offer your personal insights - what education means to you

How do you research for an education? Well this depends on the type of education you are perusing. For many formal education or educations obtained by a formal institution such as secondary school or university, you compare schools. Generally you determine what you primary topic of study would be and compare schools based on topics that are important to you. In my own life and my focus on Information Systems and computers when I was comparing universities, I compared programs, and knowing my own skills and my own areas of deficiency I took that into account when preparing for university. My education given to me by secondary school was one which provided me with ample skill in technical areas however I lacked in Mathematics. Since grade school, math was something was a topic which was difficult for me to grasp, however I excelled in technical areas. Knowing my own areas of interest and weakness I selected the university that was most to my liking and offered me one of the best chances at finding a job after graduation.

Education is a life-long learning

Life itself offers an education. This one in my opinion I think is more important than a formal education. Many times I've heard "it's not what you know, but who you know." That statement referencing its not your own knowledge that is important, but also the network of individuals you surround yourself with and the opportunities they could potentially afford to you. The trials and tribulations you go through in life provide you with a great education, from the elementary things such as don't touch fire because it burns, or ice is cold. The education provided by life is one which involves educations on socialization, interaction, and survival. The informal education of life is the one that teaches you trust, love, compassion and understanding. Many of the things in life you will not learn in a school but through your own experiences as an individual.

So to conclude, education to me is a way to allow me to better enjoy life. Through my informal and formal educations I've not only advanced my own knowledge but I've learned to be a better son, coworker, lover and person. Through my formal educations I've learned many things and advanced my skill to very technical and am now able to work in highly paid technical areas of expertise. My informal social skills have allowed me to come in contacts with individuals who can aid in me achieving such a technical job. Through my trials and tribulations in life I've learned to be a more understanding person, a more patient individual and a better friend and family member for those I surround myself with. I've learned that my education and my life are far from over, but that life and education are a journey. Education is a journey we all endure. You cannot go through life and learn nothing, for to even make the realization that you know nothing, you've also realized that there is so much else in life.

What Is Education? Insights from the World's Greatest Minds

Forty thought-provoking quotes about education..

Posted May 12, 2014 | Reviewed by Ekua Hagan

As we seek to refine and reform today’s system of education , we would do well to ask, “What is education?” Our answers may provide insights that get to the heart of what matters for 21st century children and adults alike.

It is important to step back from divisive debates on grades, standardized testing, and teacher evaluation—and really look at the meaning of education. So I decided to do just that—to research the answer to this straightforward, yet complex question.

Looking for wisdom from some of the greatest philosophers, poets, educators, historians, theologians, politicians, and world leaders, I found answers that should not only exist in our history books, but also remain at the core of current education dialogue.

In my work as a developmental psychologist, I constantly struggle to balance the goals of formal education with the goals of raising healthy, happy children who grow to become contributing members of families and society. Along with academic skills, the educational journey from kindergarten through college is a time when young people develop many interconnected abilities.

As you read through the following quotes, you’ll discover common threads that unite the intellectual, social, emotional, and physical aspects of education. For me, good education facilitates the development of an internal compass that guides us through life.

Which quotes resonate most with you? What images of education come to your mind? How can we best integrate the wisdom of the ages to address today’s most pressing education challenges?

If you are a middle or high school teacher, I invite you to have your students write an essay entitled, “What is Education?” After reviewing the famous quotes below and the images they evoke, ask students to develop their very own quote that answers this question. With their unique quote highlighted at the top of their essay, ask them to write about what helps or hinders them from getting the kind of education they seek. I’d love to publish some student quotes, essays, and images in future articles, so please contact me if students are willing to share!

What Is Education? Answers from 5th Century BC to the 21 st Century

• The principle goal of education in the schools should be creating men and women who are capable of doing new things, not simply repeating what other generations have done. — Jean Piaget, 1896-1980, Swiss developmental psychologist, philosopher
• An education isn't how much you have committed to memory , or even how much you know. It's being able to differentiate between what you know and what you don't. — Anatole France, 1844-1924, French poet, novelist
• Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world. — Nelson Mandela, 1918-2013, South African President, philanthropist
• The object of education is to teach us to love beauty. — Plato, 424-348 BC, philosopher mathematician
• The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of true education — Martin Luther King, Jr., 1929-1968, pastor, activist, humanitarian
• Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school. Albert Einstein, 1879-1955, physicist
• It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it. — Aristotle, 384-322 BC, Greek philosopher, scientist
• Education is the power to think clearly, the power to act well in the world’s work, and the power to appreciate life. — Brigham Young, 1801-1877, religious leader
• Real education should educate us out of self into something far finer – into a selflessness which links us with all humanity. — Nancy Astor, 1879-1964, American-born English politician and socialite
• Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire. — William Butler Yeats, 1865-1939, Irish poet
• Education is freedom . — Paulo Freire, 1921-1997, Brazilian educator, philosopher
• Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself. — John Dewey, 1859-1952, philosopher, psychologist, education reformer
• Education is the key to unlock the golden door of freedom. — George Washington Carver, 1864-1943, scientist, botanist, educator
• Education is an admirable thing, but it is well to remember from time to time that nothing that is worth knowing can be taught. — Oscar Wilde, 1854-1900, Irish writer, poet
• The whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows. — Sydney J. Harris, 1917-1986, journalist
• Education's purpose is to replace an empty mind with an open one. — Malcolm Forbes, 1919-1990, publisher, politician
• No one has yet realized the wealth of sympathy, the kindness and generosity hidden in the soul of a child. The effort of every true education should be to unlock that treasure. — Emma Goldman, 1869 – 1940, political activist, writer
• Much education today is monumentally ineffective. All too often we are giving young people cut flowers when we should be teaching them to grow their own plants. — John W. Gardner, 1912-2002, Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare under President Lyndon Johnson
• Education is simply the soul of a society as it passes from one generation to another. — Gilbert K. Chesterton, 1874-1936, English writer, theologian, poet, philosopher
• Education is the movement from darkness to light. — Allan Bloom, 1930-1992, philosopher, classicist, and academician
• Education is learning what you didn't even know you didn't know. -- Daniel J. Boorstin, 1914-2004, historian, professor, attorney
• The aim of education is the knowledge, not of facts, but of values. — William S. Burroughs, 1914-1997, novelist, essayist, painter
• The object of education is to prepare the young to educate themselves throughout their lives. -- Robert M. Hutchins, 1899-1977, educational philosopher
• Education is all a matter of building bridges. — Ralph Ellison, 1914-1994, novelist, literary critic, scholar
• What sculpture is to a block of marble, education is to the soul. — Joseph Addison, 1672-1719, English essayist, poet, playwright, politician
• Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today. — Malcolm X, 1925-1965, minister and human rights activist
• Education is the key to success in life, and teachers make a lasting impact in the lives of their students. — Solomon Ortiz, 1937-, former U.S. Representative-TX
• The very spring and root of honesty and virtue lie in good education. — Plutarch, 46-120AD, Greek historian, biographer, essayist
• Education is a shared commitment between dedicated teachers, motivated students and enthusiastic parents with high expectations. — Bob Beauprez, 1948-, former member of U.S. House of Representatives-CO
• The most influential of all educational factors is the conversation in a child’s home. — William Temple, 1881-1944, English bishop, teacher
• Education is the leading of human souls to what is best, and making what is best out of them. — John Ruskin, 1819-1900, English writer, art critic, philanthropist
• Education levels the playing field, allowing everyone to compete. — Joyce Meyer, 1943-, Christian author and speaker
• Education is what survives when what has been learned has been forgotten. — B.F. Skinner , 1904-1990, psychologist, behaviorist, social philosopher
• The great end of education is to discipline rather than to furnish the mind; to train it to the use of its own powers rather than to fill it with the accumulation of others. — Tyron Edwards, 1809-1894, theologian
• Let us think of education as the means of developing our greatest abilities, because in each of us there is a private hope and dream which, fulfilled, can be translated into benefit for everyone and greater strength of the nation. — John F. Kennedy, 1917-1963, 35 th President of the United States
• Education is like a lantern which lights your way in a dark alley. — Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, 1918-2004, President of the United Arab Emirates for 33 years
• When educating the minds of our youth, we must not forget to educate their hearts. — Dalai Lama, spiritual head of Tibetan Buddhism
• Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or self-confidence . — Robert Frost, 1874-1963, poet
• The secret in education lies in respecting the student. — Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1803-1882, essayist, lecturer, and poet
• My mother said I must always be intolerant of ignorance, but understanding of illiteracy. That some people, unable to go to school, were more educated and more intelligent than college professors. — Maya Angelou, 1928-, author, poet

©2014 Marilyn Price-Mitchell. All rights reserved. Please contact for permission to reprint.

Marilyn Price-Mitchell, Ph.D., is an Institute for Social Innovation Fellow at Fielding Graduate University and author of Tomorrow’s Change Makers.

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What Is Education For?

Read an excerpt from a new book by Sir Ken Robinson and Kate Robinson, which calls for redesigning education for the future.

What is education for? As it happens, people differ sharply on this question. It is what is known as an “essentially contested concept.” Like “democracy” and “justice,” “education” means different things to different people. Various factors can contribute to a person’s understanding of the purpose of education, including their background and circumstances. It is also inflected by how they view related issues such as ethnicity, gender, and social class. Still, not having an agreed-upon definition of education doesn’t mean we can’t discuss it or do anything about it.

We just need to be clear on terms. There are a few terms that are often confused or used interchangeably—“learning,” “education,” “training,” and “school”—but there are important differences between them. Learning is the process of acquiring new skills and understanding. Education is an organized system of learning. Training is a type of education that is focused on learning specific skills. A school is a community of learners: a group that comes together to learn with and from each other. It is vital that we differentiate these terms: children love to learn, they do it naturally; many have a hard time with education, and some have big problems with school.

There are many assumptions of compulsory education. One is that young people need to know, understand, and be able to do certain things that they most likely would not if they were left to their own devices. What these things are and how best to ensure students learn them are complicated and often controversial issues. Another assumption is that compulsory education is a preparation for what will come afterward, like getting a good job or going on to higher education.

So, what does it mean to be educated now? Well, I believe that education should expand our consciousness, capabilities, sensitivities, and cultural understanding. It should enlarge our worldview. As we all live in two worlds—the world within you that exists only because you do, and the world around you—the core purpose of education is to enable students to understand both worlds. In today’s climate, there is also a new and urgent challenge: to provide forms of education that engage young people with the global-economic issues of environmental well-being.

This core purpose of education can be broken down into four basic purposes.

Education should enable young people to engage with the world within them as well as the world around them. In Western cultures, there is a firm distinction between the two worlds, between thinking and feeling, objectivity and subjectivity. This distinction is misguided. There is a deep correlation between our experience of the world around us and how we feel. As we explored in the previous chapters, all individuals have unique strengths and weaknesses, outlooks and personalities. Students do not come in standard physical shapes, nor do their abilities and personalities. They all have their own aptitudes and dispositions and different ways of understanding things. Education is therefore deeply personal. It is about cultivating the minds and hearts of living people. Engaging them as individuals is at the heart of raising achievement.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights emphasizes that “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights,” and that “Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.” Many of the deepest problems in current systems of education result from losing sight of this basic principle.

Schools should enable students to understand their own cultures and to respect the diversity of others. There are various definitions of culture, but in this context the most appropriate is “the values and forms of behavior that characterize different social groups.” To put it more bluntly, it is “the way we do things around here.” Education is one of the ways that communities pass on their values from one generation to the next. For some, education is a way of preserving a culture against outside influences. For others, it is a way of promoting cultural tolerance. As the world becomes more crowded and connected, it is becoming more complex culturally. Living respectfully with diversity is not just an ethical choice, it is a practical imperative.

There should be three cultural priorities for schools: to help students understand their own cultures, to understand other cultures, and to promote a sense of cultural tolerance and coexistence. The lives of all communities can be hugely enriched by celebrating their own cultures and the practices and traditions of other cultures.

Education should enable students to become economically responsible and independent. This is one of the reasons governments take such a keen interest in education: they know that an educated workforce is essential to creating economic prosperity. Leaders of the Industrial Revolution knew that education was critical to creating the types of workforce they required, too. But the world of work has changed so profoundly since then, and continues to do so at an ever-quickening pace. We know that many of the jobs of previous decades are disappearing and being rapidly replaced by contemporary counterparts. It is almost impossible to predict the direction of advancing technologies, and where they will take us.

How can schools prepare students to navigate this ever-changing economic landscape? They must connect students with their unique talents and interests, dissolve the division between academic and vocational programs, and foster practical partnerships between schools and the world of work, so that young people can experience working environments as part of their education, not simply when it is time for them to enter the labor market.

Education should enable young people to become active and compassionate citizens. We live in densely woven social systems. The benefits we derive from them depend on our working together to sustain them. The empowerment of individuals has to be balanced by practicing the values and responsibilities of collective life, and of democracy in particular. Our freedoms in democratic societies are not automatic. They come from centuries of struggle against tyranny and autocracy and those who foment sectarianism, hatred, and fear. Those struggles are far from over. As John Dewey observed, “Democracy has to be born anew every generation, and education is its midwife.”

For a democratic society to function, it depends upon the majority of its people to be active within the democratic process. In many democracies, this is increasingly not the case. Schools should engage students in becoming active, and proactive, democratic participants. An academic civics course will scratch the surface, but to nurture a deeply rooted respect for democracy, it is essential to give young people real-life democratic experiences long before they come of age to vote.

Eight Core Competencies

The conventional curriculum is based on a collection of separate subjects. These are prioritized according to beliefs around the limited understanding of intelligence we discussed in the previous chapter, as well as what is deemed to be important later in life. The idea of “subjects” suggests that each subject, whether mathematics, science, art, or language, stands completely separate from all the other subjects. This is problematic. Mathematics, for example, is not defined only by propositional knowledge; it is a combination of types of knowledge, including concepts, processes, and methods as well as propositional knowledge. This is also true of science, art, and languages, and of all other subjects. It is therefore much more useful to focus on the concept of disciplines rather than subjects.

Disciplines are fluid; they constantly merge and collaborate. In focusing on disciplines rather than subjects we can also explore the concept of interdisciplinary learning. This is a much more holistic approach that mirrors real life more closely—it is rare that activities outside of school are as clearly segregated as conventional curriculums suggest. A journalist writing an article, for example, must be able to call upon skills of conversation, deductive reasoning, literacy, and social sciences. A surgeon must understand the academic concept of the patient’s condition, as well as the practical application of the appropriate procedure. At least, we would certainly hope this is the case should we find ourselves being wheeled into surgery.

The concept of disciplines brings us to a better starting point when planning the curriculum, which is to ask what students should know and be able to do as a result of their education. The four purposes above suggest eight core competencies that, if properly integrated into education, will equip students who leave school to engage in the economic, cultural, social, and personal challenges they will inevitably face in their lives. These competencies are curiosity, creativity, criticism, communication, collaboration, compassion, composure, and citizenship. Rather than be triggered by age, they should be interwoven from the beginning of a student’s educational journey and nurtured throughout.

From Imagine If: Creating a Future for Us All by Sir Ken Robinson, Ph.D and Kate Robinson, published by Penguin Books, an imprint of Penguin Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House, LLC. Copyright © 2022 by the Estate of Sir Kenneth Robinson and Kate Robinson.

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How to Write Georgetown’s “Educated” Essay

This article was written based on the information and opinions presented by Vinay Bhaskara and Alexander Oddo in a CollegeVine livestream. You can watch the full livestream for more info.

What’s Covered:

Understanding what this prompt is asking, answering how georgetown can help, taking a philosophical approach.

The Georgetown’s supplemental essay prompt 4a reads as follows: 

What does it mean to you to be educated? How might Georgetown College help you achieve this aim? (Applicants to the Sciences and Mathematics or the Faculty of Languages and Linguistics should address their chosen course of study.) – 1 page single spaced

In this article, we will discuss what exactly the prompt is asking of you and how to approach your response. If you are applying to Georgetown and are looking for guidance on the other prompts, check out this post on how to write the Georgetown supplemental essays .

In this essay, you can be a little more general than your other Georgetown responses. The prompt does, however, point out specific departments, so, if your intended major falls within those, make sure to answer their question with regards to your major. 

Regardless of the general prompt, your answer should be unique to you. Make sure you’re writing about your motivation for getting an education and for wanting to apply to college, and specifically Georgetown. Your answer to the first question, what does it mean to be educated, should also come from your own opinions. 

Talk about your reasons for wanting to be educated in the first place. Talk about why you are applying to college and more specifically why Georgetown. The school knows they are rigorous and that you are planning to spend 4 years in intense studies, so they want to know what’s motivating you and how Georgetown can help get you there. You can do this by highlighting specific resources and opportunities that Georgetown offers, which we will discuss in the next section. 

With this essay, you should discuss the specifics of why you’ve chosen Georgetown and why an education there would help you. Feel free to name specific classes, professors, or research projects that interest you. Now is your time to highlight the academics at Georgetown and how they align with your intellectual and future career goals. 

One academic feature Georgetown has is its core requirements. These are classes which students have to take in their freshman and sophomore years that cover a wide array of fields from STEM to Theology to English. They cover a lot of different things, and they do this because of core personnel. Georgetown wants its students to have a well-rounded education with knowledge from many different areas. You take these courses while taking classes specific to your major, and then the last two years of college are when you focus on your specialty. This is just one example that you can highlight from the many programs that Georgetown offers. 

You should also keep in mind that it is important to dive deep into the main question about education in your response. For many, an education could just be some knowledge you gain to get access to a career, but this essay is asking for a more philosophical approach. Ask yourself what the purpose of education is and why that would help you on a personal level. Talk about your relationship to learning in general and your attitude towards acquiring new skills and knowledge. 

Georgetown does focus on the core personnel, as mentioned earlier, so they are looking for students who are well-rounded with spikes in particular fields. Even if you plan on majoring in one of the programs they mention in the question, you can still highlight interdisciplinary education. It is a tricky balance, but you know your academic aspirations best, so discuss what feels right to your journey. You could choose to write about a variety of different fields or focus on education within your intended major. 

Overall, try to tell Georgetown why you decided to apply to their college. Bring in the philosophical meaning of education, how this relates to your future, and why Georgetown specifically can help you get there. Remember not to talk about the prestigiousness of the college too much because that can often come off as cliche and is often overused in this type of essay.

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What My School Means to Me: Essays from 3 High Schoolers

How students at an unusual school think—and write—about their experience.

In January, I visited the South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities, a public residential high school in Greenville. Artistically talented students from around the state spend two or three of their high school years in dedicated pursuit of their art—dance, drama, music, visual arts, or creative writing—along with their academic curriculum. I wrote about it here .

I asked Scott Gould, a creative writing teacher at the school, if he would ask his students to write me a short essay about their school. This was a wide-open request; I wanted to hear whatever perspective the students wanted to offer about their experience at the school. Among the essays the students submitted, here are three of my favorites, unedited and untouched. I’d like to share them with you.

The first is by Cameron Messinides, a junior from Camden, SC:

Long-Distance My mother called on Sunday to tell me our herd of goats, previously twenty-one strong, had been reduced to three. Two feral dogs squeezed through a hole in the pasture fence and killed anything they could catch. My parents and brother arrived during the massacre. My father jumped the fence to chase the dogs and shot the slower one with a pistol. On his way back, he heard a few scattered bleats and followed the sounds. In a gully, he found two billies and the last nanny. They had survived by shoving themselves into an abandoned chicken coop. Afterwards, my family walked among the carcasses--once white, now bloodstained and caked with rain-softened clay. We wanted to find life, my mother said. They gave up at four in the afternoon, and my father and brother made a pile of the bodies in the woods, to be buried later. Phone calls like this are common now. I've been in a boarding school since August, and every weekend my mother seems to find something new to break to me. It's not always bad. The weekend before, she called to tell me my brother enrolled in a birding retreat on the South Carolina coastline. And before that, she told me about the new color she picked for the living room walls. I'm still not used to this kind of communication. I miss immediacy. A year ago, when I still lived with them, I would know all this. She wouldn't have to tell me two or three days later. I'd like to say I've adjusted, but I haven't. The Wednesday after the goats died, she called again. She told me she couldn't shake what she had seen. She worried. Would the dogs' owner show up? How about the surviving dog? What if he came back? She hadn't been sleeping, and when she did, she dreamt of the bloody bodies, the torn sides of a billy, the kids crushed into the mud. I told her I knew how she felt, but I don't. I don't think it's possible. She sent me only one picture of the scene, a close-up of the surviving nanny's nose, ripped open by the dog's teeth. The rest I have to imagine. I imagine the dogs—Brown? Black?—chasing the herd across a winter field, hooves and paws tearing up dead grass. I imagine stumbling kids. I imagine the deputy who arrived a few hours later, gray-haired and perhaps a slow talker. None of it is certain. I still sleep easily. That's the cost of our separation: her anxieties don't travel the phone lines, and I can't make myself care. But I want to care. Some days I only want to be home, in the ranch-style with green siding and the stump in the front yard, which is the only remnant of the rotting oak my family cut down without me. I'd walk to the pasture with my father, take the shovel he offers me, and dig with him, shoulder-to-shoulder, a hole big enough to put all eighteen dead goats under three or four feet of orange clay. Then, we return home, and I sit in the living room next to my mother, tell her she can sleep now. Even hours into the night, after she has gone to bed, I sit, surrounded by lamplight and the color of the freshly-painted walls, three coats of Townhouse Tan, and listen to my brothers. They lie side-by-side on the hearth, birder's guidebook open before them, and take turns whispering names to each other: bobwhite, cardinal, tufted titmouse.

Next, by Shelley Hucks, a senior from Florence, SC:

Florentine In the heart of South Carolina, the railroad tracks converge over swampland, and fields are laced with cotton in the Dog Days of early August. The summer heat rolls in, unstoppable and rests between cypress knees and Spanish moss. The place can’t decide what to be: it’s one-third urban, one-third rural, and one-third swamp. The people seem to fall victim to a cycle of poverty, of being at sixteen what their parents were at eighteen, what their own children will be at fourteen. It’s not easy to get out. The place is called Florence, and I lived there for sixteen years before moving three hours away to study creative writing at a boarding school. In upstate South Carolina is the Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities. It’s situated just off Greenville’s downtown area, with Reedy River Falls Park in the school’s backyard. Downtown Greenville is an arts community, with performing centers and theaters, galleries, art festivals and craft fairs, and restaurants willing to provide venues for writing club readings or jazz band performances. Not only is the atmosphere different, but the entire landscape: from my dorm room, I can see the hazy silhouette of mountains. At the Governor’s School, I’ve studied under excellent teachers. I’ve been exposed to new authors and genres, learned to be curious, analytical, to believe in the deliberation of every line of poetry and each line of dialogue in a short story. I’ve learned to put my personal life into artistic context with the help of professionals. I’ve learned to become aware. To make something strange, beautiful, something important. And, something particularly valuable to me because of my immense pride in my hometown, I’ve learned to appreciate a strong sense of setting, the way characters can function in so many complex ways. I’ve learned how to convey Florence in words. Governor’s School has provided me with the training to write about the content that I grew up with, the material I naturally have to offer. Every story I write takes place in some type of Florence, with its tangible sensation of heat trapped in the swamp, the perpetual presence of desperation. All of my characters are based on Florentines: single mothers I’ve met at work, the mysterious neighbor who passed out already-opened Halloween candy, or the woman who showed up to church drinking hairspray. Going home on breaks, or for the summer, has altered my perspective of Florence. Instead of seeing tragic figures living in a never-changing place, I see characters full of complexities living in a place as undecided as they are. Once, the chain-link fence covered in hubcaps was ugly. But now I see it as armor, protecting the women on the porch, who sip sweet tea and watch another fistfight unfold in the street, those men who wordlessly understand the ritual required to live here.

Finally, by Jackson Trice, a senior from Simpsonville, SC:

Outside the Lines I forget how strange my school sounds to the rest of the world until I leave it. On a card at the front desk inside a college admissions building, I am told to write the name of my high school. The full name, South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities, does not fit on the dotted line, and I have to draw an arrow to the back of the card, and write the rest there. When I say my school’s name out loud to family members, it sounds prestigious, almost regal. But on the first day of school here it is made clear that I was chosen based on potential, and not necessarily talent. It’s this ego smashing that happens throughout junior year that creates the atmosphere of Governor’s School. You don’t get “good,” you just make progress. You are not special, you’ve just been given an excellent opportunity. I don’t know how much Governor’s School has changed me until I meet up with friends from my old school at a football game during fall break. I live in Simpsonville, South Carolina only a fifteen minute drive from downtown Greenville. Still, all these kids know about my school are rumors. “I’ve heard the dancers are super catty,” one says. “I’ve heard there’s, like, crazy amounts of sex.” I answer, “Sometimes,” and “That’s a good joke,” respectively. I try to explain to them that yes, I have real school work on top of art work. No, I can’t have a boy in my dorm room—I can’t even have Advil. Hey, hey, there are a few republicans. Like, two, maybe? I quickly realize that the magic of this school is lost as soon as I try and pin words to it. I stop coming home for Friday night football games. I choose, instead, to stay on campus. There are two creative writing classrooms that make up our department. Each is packed with books and long desks and computers. Only creative writers are allowed in these rooms, and there’s a giddiness in the seclusion of it. Monday through Thursday, we stay in the rooms after hours to get work done, but on Fridays, we kick our shoes off and run around to celebrate the weekend. We lay on the desks and talk to each other and laugh until our sides ache. We share secrets and stories and we belong to these rooms, to the spines of our favorite books on the bookshelves. We belong to each other. There are, of course, the nights when AP Chemistry keeps me up until four in the morning. There are the days where workshop is brutal, and I never want to write another word again. There are those scary moments where I feel that the pressure is too much and I fantasize about going to regular school. Maybe then, I could learn to drive, go to real high school parties, eat my mother’s delicious food anytime I wanted. But then there’s a drama student playing guitar in the academic stairwell. The sound of his voice spins up the flights of stairs, bouncing off walls in wistful echoes. It calms me. There’s hot chocolate at the Starbucks across the street, and there’s the beauty of that street, which is lined with small trees dressed up in white Christmas lights, illuminating the sidewalk. There’s my friend who sits with me inside Starbucks and talks about Rilke and Miley Cyrus with equal insight and tenacity. When I return, there’s a group of students outside the residential life building, blocking the doors. They’re all dancing, and singing to the beat of their clapping hands, stomping feet: “You have to dance to pass. Dance, dance, to pass.” And because I can sense that there is something wonderfully magical about this place, I feel that I must obey them. It is only necessary. I am a terrible dancer, but in this moment, I dance shamelessly. When the crowd is satisfied with my moves, they cheer, and finally part, letting me into the building, welcoming me home.

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What Education Means to Me

Admin January 31, 2012 Uncategorized 3 Comments

Hi everyone! It’s me –  Sharmila Rawat –  again. I study in grade eight at Montessori House High School. In today’s blog I’m going to share something about “What Education Means to Me”.

Sharmila, author of today's blog post.

As we all know, education is important in our life. Education is the only thing that helps us to differentiate what is wrong and what is right. Without education we can’t do what we want or we can’t reach our destination. Education helps us in each and every field of our life.

To me education is the gateway to success. Success can be achieved when people have knowledge, skills and attitude. All these things can be gained only with the help of education. I believe that education is the only way which shows us many ways to lead and utilize our life properly. No person in the world with education is neglected.

It is the third eye of the person, because when we gain education, we get to know about things in the world without even seeing them. For example: I have not visited America but because of education I know what is found there, what’s the shape and size of it, what kind of country it is and so on. Education is non-other than material to enrich our knowledge and wisdom which helps us to develop our ideas and concept. Every human have feelings, thoughts, questions and different ideas within them.

Our eight children who are enrolled in higher education.

Education helps us to explore our own thoughts and ideas and makes it able to express it in different forms. So for me education is like a medium through which I can interact with different people and share our ideas. It is also the door to our destiny.        

i loved it hope you get more encuraging blogs

Education important in everyone life. Because education is the only way which helps us in many ways to lead and utilize our life.Education benefits in achieving a colleges degree. It shapes the lives of people.

Love your blog post. I will use it as a speech to a student that just failed the 7th grade.

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Essay on Education for School Students and Children

500+ words essay on education.

Education is an important tool which is very useful in everybody’s life. Education is what differentiates us from other living beings on earth. It makes man the smartest creature on earth. It empowers humans and gets them ready to face challenges of life efficiently. With that being said, education still remains a luxury and not a necessity in our country. Educational awareness needs to be spread through the country to make education accessible. But, this remains incomplete without first analyzing the importance of education. Only when the people realize what significance it holds, can they consider it a necessity for a good life. In this essay on Education, we will see the importance of education and how it is a doorway to success.

Importance of Education

Education is the most significant tool in eliminating poverty and unemployment . Moreover, it enhances the commercial scenario and benefits the country overall. So, the higher the level of education in a country, the better the chances of development are.

In addition, this education also benefits an individual in various ways. It helps a person take a better and informed decision with the use of their knowledge. This increases the success rate of a person in life.

Subsequently, education is also responsible for providing with an enhanced lifestyle. It gives you career opportunities that can increase your quality of life.

Similarly, education also helps in making a person independent. When one is educated enough, they won’t have to depend on anyone else for their livelihood. They will be self-sufficient to earn for themselves and lead a good life.

Above all, education also enhances the self-confidence of a person and makes them certain of things in life. When we talk from the countries viewpoint, even then education plays a significant role. Educated people vote for the better candidate of the country. This ensures the development and growth of a nation.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

Doorway to Success

To say that education is your doorway to success would be an understatement. It serves as the key which will unlock numerous doors that will lead to success. This will, in turn, help you build a better life for yourself.

An educated person has a lot of job opportunities waiting for them on the other side of the door. They can choose from a variety of options and not be obligated to do something they dislike. Most importantly, education impacts our perception positively. It helps us choose the right path and look at things from various viewpoints rather than just one.

With education, you can enhance your productivity and complete a task better in comparison to an uneducated person. However, one must always ensure that education solely does not ensure success.

It is a doorway to success which requires hard work, dedication and more after which can you open it successfully. All of these things together will make you successful in life.

In conclusion, education makes you a better person and teaches you various skills. It enhances your intellect and the ability to make rational decisions. It enhances the individual growth of a person.

Education also improves the economic growth of a country . Above all, it aids in building a better society for the citizens of a country. It helps to destroy the darkness of ignorance and bring light to the world.

FAQs on Education

Q.1 Why is Education Important?

A.1 Education is important because it is responsible for the overall development of a person. It helps you acquire skills which are necessary for becoming successful in life.

Q.2 How does Education serve as a Doorway to Success?

A.2 Education is a doorway to success because it offers you job opportunities. Furthermore, it changes our perception of life and makes it better.

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What Attending College Means For Me by Mari

Mariof Waverly's entry into Varsity Tutor's June 2013 scholarship contest

What Attending College Means For Me by Mari - June 2013 Scholarship Essay

Thank you for considering me for the Varsity Tutors Scholarship.  What Attending College Means For Me Attending college for me means many things.  College means independence, maturity, responsibility, accountability, excellence, and future opportunities.  All these aspects work together to create the best college experience.   For me, attending college is not just showing up for class, but rather being engaged in the class, learning, and preparing for my future. I plan to participate in class discussions (as appropriate), learn from the expertise of the professor, seek out study groups, help others in the class, and maintain grades of a scholar.  As a life-long stutterer and one for whom ADHD has caused struggles, class discussions and interaction has not been easy for me.  I am thankful that I have utilized coping skills to overcome the obstacles, and I look forward to discussions, debate, and presentations as part of my college experience. University will be a time of more independence for me.  With this new independence, it may be tempting to forget what is important.  However, I plan to continue to eat healthy, keep my dorm room clean, and make sure I stay organized and scheduled.  I also will be intentional in exercising my faith through worship, study groups, and fellowship.   Not only do I wish a positive college experience for myself, but also for those with whom I come into contact.  I realize that attending university is not done “in a bubble”, but actually in community with others.  My actions will affect others; therefore I will strive to live in such a way that builds others up instead of tearing them down.   I realize that not everyone has the opportunity to achieve a university education.  I will not take this chance lightly, but will appreciate every minute of it.  As a child who was adopted at birth, I am thankful that my parents have encouraged me in my academics, and I look forward to making them proud by performing at the best of my abilities.  I realize that if I make the most of this opportunity, my future will be brighter than if I never took advantage of higher education.   Attending college means a lot for me; it will change my life. Sincerely yours,Mari Wheeler  

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What a College Education Means to Me? Essay Example

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Words: 349

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Today’s competitive business world is very competitive and with those words means there is a mandated need for a college education to compete for higher wages and to simply compete for a job after high school. My desires are to work in the sciences, particular the field of biology as either a biologist or marine biologist. I began this interest whilst studying various subjects whilst in high school and researching various careers over the internet that sparked my interest. “Both career interest of biologist and marine biologist required I further my high school science education and acquire formal science university education in upper biology, chemistry, physics and mathematics education in order to pursue my dreams.” (Spark Notes 2010).

This will be a tedious and dedicated study for me to pursue but it will be worthwhile for either career will be very rewarding, for my goal is either to teach at the doctorate level at a university with a doctorate degree or to work in research in marine biology with a doctorate level of education. Thus, I am looking at ten years of formal university level studies and research to complete my doctorate degree. This may seem like a lifetime of studies to many students but to me it is a short time taken out of my young life which will enable me to live a prosperous and fun-filled life doing what I love. I expect the research side of study during my doctorate phase of studying to be very rewarding for it will be the practical experience that will allow me to understand the academic studies at the university.

I have not decided what university I will study at yet, but I have eliminated the studies down to a few thus far. I will finalize my decision by the end of this year and commence university applications for admission and include applications for scholarships. I know I will succeed because of my determination and drive and overall interest in becoming successful.

Works Cited

What College Means to Me (2010) Retrieved May 14, 2010 from, http://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/2534.html

Spark Notes (2010) Retrieved May 14, 2010 from, http://www.sparknotes.com/biology/

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What Education Means

Assessment model print, poor personal essay.

This poor personal essay responds to a college-entrance prompt. The ideas are largely negative and underdeveloped, which will not encourage the college representative to score the response highly.

Title: What Education Means

Level: Grade 11, Grade 12

Mode: Narrative Writing

Form: Personal Essay

Completed Rubric: What Education Means

Blank Rubric: Assessment Rubric for Narratives

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Student Model

Education has shaped me because I haven't been out of a classroom for 13 years. That's a long time. If an adult was at the same job for 13 years, they'd get a pension. What did I get? A piece of paper that says congradulations for lasting for 13 years. Now you've got to last four more and pay for it.

Education teaches you to sit still and do what you are told. That's shaped me. I used to run around all the time and do whatever I want, but now I sit still and do what I am told.

Education is like a big game. You have to learn the rules and play by them. Some people work so hard to win the game. Then they just go on to another game they try to win. It's just game after game. I play the game like anybody but I don't try to win because so what you won.

I have had a lot of good teachers and a lot of bad teachers. That's what education teaches you. You'll have good bosses and bad bosses, but I guess you'll always have a boss of some kind.

One of my teachers has a poster of a cabin by a lake and says, "Wouldn't you like to just go live in a cabin away from it all?" Sure, but that cabin probably costs $500,000. Where are you going to get that? Not by teaching.

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What is the Importance of Education Essay: A Comprehensive Guide

What is the Importance of Education Essay ? Unraveling the Path to Success! Embark on a thrilling journey of knowledge and self-discovery as we explore the transformative power of education.

Discover how education holds the key to unlocking your full potential, paving the way to a world of endless opportunities and boundless joy.

Don’t miss out on this life-changing exploration – it’s time to unleash the greatness within you! What is the Importance of Education Essay? Let’s find out!

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What is the importance of education essay?

What is the importance of education essay highlights the significance of education in shaping individuals and society.

Education provides individuals with the necessary skills and knowledge to succeed in their careers and personal lives.

It plays a crucial role in personal growth and development, allowing individuals to explore their interests, develop their talents and abilities, and achieve their goals.

Understanding the Significance of Education

Education plays a pivotal role in shaping individuals and societies. It equips people with knowledge and skills that are necessary for personal and professional development.

Moreover, education helps individuals make informed decisions, think critically, and solve problems.

Benefits of Writing an Essay on Education Importance

Writing an essay on the importance of education allows individuals to delve deeper into the subject matter.

It encourages research, critical thinking, and the exploration of various perspectives.

Additionally, writing helps individuals articulate their thoughts effectively and develop strong communication skills.

Exploring Different Perspectives on Education Importance

An essay on the importance of education offers an opportunity to explore different perspectives.

It allows individuals to analyze the impact of education on personal growth, social change, and career success.

By considering various viewpoints, individuals can gain a comprehensive understanding of the multifaceted nature of education.

Importance of Education

Education is of utmost importance as it equips individuals with the necessary knowledge and skills to navigate through life.

It not only provides opportunities for personal growth and development, but also enables individuals to contribute effectively to society.

Education empowers individuals to think critically, solve problems, and make informed decisions, which are essential skills in today’s complex world.

The Role of Education in Personal Development

Education plays a crucial role in personal development. It cultivates a sense of self-awareness, promotes emotional intelligence, and enhances moral values.

Education empowers individuals to recognize their strengths, embrace diversity, and become responsible citizens.

How Education Empowers Individuals

Education empowers individuals by providing them with knowledge and skills that are crucial for their personal and professional growth.

It opens doors to opportunities and allows individuals to achieve their goals. Moreover, education instills confidence, self-belief, and a sense of empowerment in individuals.

Education as a Tool for Social Change

Education is a powerful tool for social change. It helps challenge societal norms, break down barriers, and foster inclusivity.

Through education, individuals learn about social justice, equality, and human rights, which in turn enables them to contribute to a more equitable and just society.

Essay on Importance of Education

Writing an essay on the importance of education requires careful planning and organization.

• Start by introducing the topic and providing some background information on why education is important in today’s society.
• Then, outline your main points and provide evidence to support each point.
• Make sure to include real-life examples or personal experiences to make your essay more engaging and relatable.

Tips for Writing an Engaging Essay on Education Importance

When writing an essay on the importance of education, it is essential to engage the reader.

Start with a compelling introduction that captures attention. Present strong arguments supported by relevant evidence. Additionally, use clear and concise language to convey your ideas effectively.

Key Points to Include in an Essay on Education Importance

When writing an essay on the importance of education, it is important to include key points that highlight its significance. Emphasize the role of education in personal growth, societal development, and career success.

Discuss how education equips individuals with knowledge, critical thinking skills, and the ability to contribute positively to society.

Addressing Common Misconceptions about Education Importance

There are often misconceptions surrounding the importance of education. In your essay, address these misconceptions by providing evidence-based arguments.

Dispel myths such as “education is only for academic excellence” or “success can be achieved without education.” Highlight the comprehensive benefits and lifelong impact of education.

500 Words Essay on the Importance of Education

We will delve into the significance of education and explore how to effectively convey its essence in a concise 500 words essay.

Whether you are a student seeking guidance or an educator looking for inspiration, join us on this enlightening journey as we unlock the transformative power of education.

Constructing a Well-Structured Essay within Word Limit

Writing a 500-word essay on the importance of education requires careful planning and organization.

Divide your essay into paragraphs with clear topic sentences. Use transitional phrases to ensure coherence. Prioritize key points and supporting evidence while staying within the given word limit.

Exploring Various Aspects of Education Importance in 500 Words

A 500-word essay provides an opportunity to explore various aspects of education importance.

Discuss the role of education in personal development, social change, and career success.

Include examples and real-life experiences to illustrate the impact of education on individuals and society as a whole.

Creating a Compelling Conclusion for a 500 Words Essay

A compelling conclusion is essential for a 500-word essay on the importance of education.

Summarize the main points discussed in the essay and re-emphasize the significance of education.

Leave the reader with a thought-provoking statement that reinforces the importance of lifelong learning.

Education is Important

Education is the key that unlocks a world of opportunities, empowering individuals to reach their full potential and make a lasting impact on society.

It is the foundation upon which knowledge is built, shaping the way we think, perceive, and interact with the world around us.

Highlighting the Long-term Benefits of a Good Education

Education is important for long-term personal and professional success. A good education provides individuals with the knowledge and skills necessary to thrive in various aspects of life. It opens doors to better career opportunities, enhances critical thinking abilities, and fosters personal growth.

The Link between Education and Career Success

Education plays a vital role in career success. Well-educated individuals are more likely to secure higher-paying jobs and have increased opportunities for career advancement.

Education equips individuals with the necessary skills and knowledge required in their chosen fields, making them more competitive in the job market.

Education as a Tool for Overcoming Socioeconomic Barriers

Education serves as a powerful tool for overcoming socioeconomic barriers.

It provides individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds with opportunities to improve their lives. Education promotes equality and social mobility, enabling individuals to break free from the cycle of poverty and achieve a better quality of life.

200 Words Short Essay on Education Importance

Education is the key to unlocking one’s potential and achieving personal growth.

It is not merely about acquiring knowledge from textbooks, but also about developing critical thinking skills, fostering creativity, and nurturing a thirst for lifelong learning.

We will explore the importance of education and provide practical tips on how to craft a concise yet impactful 200-word essay that captures its significance in our lives.

Conveying a Strong Message within a Limited Word Count

A 200-word essay on the importance of education requires concise and impactful writing.

Focus on key points and avoid unnecessary details. Use clear language and straight-to-the-point arguments to convey a strong message within the limited word count.

Choosing the Most Impactful Points for a 200 Words Essay

When writing a 200-word essay on education importance, select the most impactful points to highlight.

Discuss the role of education in personal development, career success, and societal progress.

Emphasize the transformative power of education in shaping lives and creating a more inclusive society.

The Power of Concise Writing in an Essay on Education Importance

Concise writing in an essay on the importance of education allows for a powerful message. By carefully choosing words and phrases, individuals can deliver a compelling argument within a limited word count. Conciseness ensures that the essay is focused, impactful, and leaves a lasting impression on the reader.

Importance of Education in English

Education is not just a mere process of acquiring knowledge; it is a beacon that guides us towards personal growth and societal progress.

It helps people transcend limitations, making them well-educated individuals with the tools to navigate life’s challenges.

As education teaches, it sharpens and enhances our understanding, leading us to become a well-informed, educated society.

From elementary education to college, it opens doors of opportunities, bringing the cherished dream of success within reach.

Join us as we delve into the significance of education and how it serves as a ray of light, illuminating the path to a prosperous and enlightened future for all.

Exploring the Influence of English Education Globally

English education holds great importance globally. It is considered a lingua franca and enables communication between individuals from different language backgrounds.

English proficiency provides individuals with access to a wider range of educational resources, job opportunities, and cultural exchange programs.

The Benefits of English Education for Career Growth

English education facilitates career growth. English is widely used in various professional fields and industries, making it a valuable skill for job seekers.

Strong English language skills can open doors to international job opportunities, multinational companies, and global markets.

English Education as a Gateway to International Opportunities

English education acts as a gateway to international opportunities. It allows individuals to connect with people from different backgrounds and cultures, fostering global understanding and cooperation.

Fluency in English expands one’s horizons and facilitates engagement in global academic, professional, and social contexts.

10 Tips to Succeed in Life

In this fast-paced and competitive world, everyone aspires to achieve success and lead a fulfilling life.

• While the path to success may seem elusive, one indispensable factor paves the way for greatness: education.
• Education makes people well educated, instills knowledge, and empowers individuals to reach their full potential.
• Whether you’re a student, a working professional, or someone seeking personal growth, the importance of education for children and adults alike cannot be overstated.

So, let’s embark on a journey of self-discovery and enlightenment as we explore ten invaluable tips that will guide us towards triumph in all aspects of life.

1. Education Makes a Difference

Recognize the importance of education in life. It not only helps in the development of understanding and learning but also sharpens and enhances your skills.

2. Set Clear Goals

Define your objectives and create a roadmap to achieve them. Education can help you attain your goals and lead to a successful life.

3. Embrace Continuous Learning

Education doesn’t end with formal schooling. Cultivate a mindset of continuous learning to enhance your knowledge and skills.

4. Build Strong Relationships

Surround yourself with well-educated and supportive individuals. Education can connect you with like-minded people who can be valuable in your journey.

5. Prioritize Time Management

Develop good time management skills to balance education and other aspects of life effectively.

6. Stay Determined

Be persistent in pursuing your dreams, and education can help you stay focused and overcome challenges.

7. Take Care of Your Health

A healthy body and mind are crucial for success. Education can create awareness about health and well-being.

8. Stay Curious and Open-Minded

Embrace curiosity and be open to new ideas. Education can foster an inquisitive mindset and a willingness to explore new possibilities.

9. Persevere in Adversity

Life may present challenges, but education can instill resilience and the determination to persevere.

10. Contribute to Society

Education not only benefits you but also empowers you to make a positive impact on society. Being well-educated can help you become an aware citizen who contributes to the betterment of others.

What is its importance to education?

Education is of paramount importance as it equips individuals with knowledge, skills, and critical thinking abilities, enabling them to navigate challenges, make informed decisions, and contribute meaningfully to society.

Why education is the key to success?

Education opens doors of opportunity, empowers individuals to achieve their aspirations, and broadens their horizons, laying the foundation for personal and professional growth, which ultimately leads to success.

What education means to me?

Education is a transformative journey that empowers me to explore my passions, acquire knowledge, and develop into a well-rounded individual, capable of making a positive impact on the world.

What is the true purpose of education essay?

The true purpose of education is to foster intellectual curiosity, instill values, promote lifelong learning, and prepare individuals to become responsible, compassionate, and engaged global citizens.

What is the meaning of learning in education?

In education, learning refers to the process of acquiring knowledge, skills, and attitudes through various experiences, formal instruction, and interactions with others.

What does education mean to you in one word?

Enlightenment. Education illuminates minds, broadens perspectives, and empowers individuals to understand the world around them.

Why is education important to you?

Education is crucial to me as it serves as a catalyst for personal growth, opens up opportunities for success, and allows me to contribute positively to society.

What does the value of education mean to you?

The value of education lies in its ability to cultivate critical thinking, nurture creativity, and equip individuals with the tools to lead fulfilling and purposeful lives.

What is the true purpose of education?

The true purpose of education is to enable individuals to reach their full potential, become well-informed citizens, and actively participate in shaping a just and prosperous society.

Why education is the key factor for success?

Education equips individuals with the necessary skills, knowledge, and adaptability to excel in various fields, overcome challenges, and achieve their goals, thus making it a key factor for success.

Why is it important to have education?

Education is vital as it empowers individuals to make informed decisions, enhances their problem-solving abilities, and provides a foundation for personal and societal advancement.

Is education the most powerful weapon?

Indeed, education is a powerful weapon as it empowers individuals to challenge ignorance, break barriers, and effect positive change in the world.

What does success in education mean to you?

Success in education means not only achieving academic excellence but also developing a lifelong passion for learning and a desire to make a meaningful difference in the world.

What is the true meaning of education?

The true meaning of education goes beyond acquiring information; it involves fostering a love for learning, nurturing character, and preparing individuals to be responsible and compassionate global citizens.

Frequently Asked Questions about Education

Get answers to all your questions about education from our comprehensive FAQ . Discover everything you need to know about this important topic.

Why is education important for personal growth?

Education is important for personal growth because it provides individuals with the opportunity to explore their interests, develop their skills and talents, and achieve their goals. It also leads to increased self-confidence, creativity, and a better understanding of the world around them.

Why is education important for societal development?

Education is important for societal development because it leads to a well-educated population, which in turn contributes to a stronger economy, improved health, and increased political stability. A well-educated society also promotes democracy and tolerance.

How does education benefit individuals in their careers?

Education benefits individuals in their careers by providing them with the necessary skills and knowledge to succeed. It also provides them with better career opportunities, higher salaries, and more job security.

Wrapping Up What is the Importance of Education Essay

Education is an essential tool that can help individuals succeed in life. It goes beyond acquiring knowledge and skills; it shapes character and empowers individuals to achieve their goals.

By prioritizing education, embracing continuous learning, and staying determined, one can navigate through challenges and achieve success in various aspects of life.

Education not only benefits the individual but also contributes to the betterment of society as a whole. It is a powerful tool that can open doors of opportunities and enable people to lead fulfilling and successful lives.

If you enjoyed this article about What is the Importance of Education Essay and would like to learn more, please leave a comment below.

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‘Back to school’ means anytime from late July to after Labor Day, depending on where in the U.S. you live

About 70% of the 46.7 million public school students in the United States are now back in class, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis. Depending on where you grew up or live now, your reaction might be, “That sounds about right,” “Already?” or “What took them so long?”

Pew Research Center conducted this analysis to determine when public schools in the United States start classes. We collected school start dates for the 2023-24 school year from a nationally representative, stratified random sample of 1,573 districts.

To create this dataset, we began with a stratified random sample of 1,500 public school districts that was used in a 2023 Center analysis of school district mission statements (this analysis only covers “regular” public school districts and their equivalents; institutions such as charter schools and specialized state-run schools are excluded). That sample had been drawn from a comprehensive list of public school districts maintained by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). For more details for how that earlier sample was selected, read the methodology for that analysis.

We then supplemented that stratified sample in several ways:

• One district no longer exists and was removed from the dataset.
• Because school districts in Vermont, New Hampshire and New York City are classified not as “regular local districts” but as “component districts,” the initial sample missed them. So we drew an additional sample of 72 districts from those areas and added it to the original sample.
• The lone districts in Hawaii and Washington, D.C., neither of which were initially selected, were also added so that at least one district from all 50 states and the District of Columbia would be represented.

The data was weighted to account for each district’s probability of selection in both the initial and supplementary samples. Then it was calibrated so that both the weighted number of districts and the weighted number of students matched the totals for all eligible districts in the NCES list.

After these adjustments, we had a sample of 1,573 districts. For each one, we manually searched its website to find its 2023-24 calendar. If we couldn’t find a calendar (or a functioning website), we called the district office. In the end, we found start dates for 1,551 districts; the rest were coded as “no data.”

In most cases, districts had a single reopening date for all of their schools. When start dates varied, we used the date that applied to the most grade levels. In the few cases where we couldn’t determine that reliably, we went with the earliest reopening date on the calendar.

In some districts, certain schools may follow a “year-round” calendar rather than the “traditional” calendar (late summer/early fall to late spring/early summer). In those cases, we used the start date on the traditional calendars, since those were more comparable to the vast majority of U.S. school districts. As of the 2017-18 school year, only about 3% of public schools were on any type of year-round schedules , according to the U.S. Department of Education’s National Teacher and Principal Survey.

Student enrollment figures are taken from the NCES database and are for the 2021-22 school year. In addition, each district was coded as belonging to one of the U.S. Census Bureau’s nine geographic divisions for regional analysis.

Some, but not all, U.S. school districts offer prekindergarten classes. Student weights for each district in the sample include pre-K students when appropriate, but start dates are based on grades K-12.

Information on the laws and policies governing school start dates in each state came from the Education Commission of the States , a nonprofit research organization that serves education policymakers throughout the country.

For most U.S. K-12 students, the school year runs about 180 days, spread over roughly 10 months with a long summer vacation. Within that broad timeframe, however, there are substantial regional variations, according to our analysis of over 1,500 public school districts. (The analysis only covers “regular” public school districts and their equivalents; institutions such as charter schools and specialized state-run schools are excluded.)

For example, school tends to start earlier in southern regions than farther north, broadly speaking. More than two-thirds of students in the U.S. Census Bureau’s East South Central division – Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi and Tennessee – went back to school the week of Aug. 7. They joined another 19% of students who had started classes earlier. In the West South Central division (Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas), 94% of students returned to school between Aug. 7 and Aug. 18.

But in the six New England states, almost no one goes back to school before the week of Aug. 28. And students in the Middle Atlantic states – New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania – go back even later: About three-quarters won’t hit the books until after Labor Day, which falls on Sept. 4 this year.

Even within regions, districts in the southernmost states sometimes start classes earlier than those farther north. For instance, within the sprawling South Atlantic division, sampled districts in its southernmost states (Florida and Georgia) have similar start-date patterns to those in the East South Central region, while the division’s northernmost jurisdictions (Maryland, Delaware and D.C.) more closely resemble districts in regions up north.

Some states stand apart from the overall trends in their region in other ways. In the West North Central region, for instance, roughly two-thirds of public school students start classes between Aug. 14 and Aug. 25. However, Minnesota law requires schools to start after Labor Day in most cases, and the vast majority of sampled Minnesota districts will go back after the holiday.

In the Census Bureau’s eight-state Mountain division, which stretches from the Canadian border to the Mexican border, nearly half of public school students overall return to school between Aug. 14 and Aug. 25. But almost all of the sampled districts in Arizona and New Mexico, the two southernmost states in that division, start one to three weeks earlier.

Why do start dates vary so much?

While such geographic variations are fairly apparent, the reasons for them are less clear. State laws certainly play a part: 16 states establish windows, either by statute or rule, for when school must start, according to data from the Education Commission of the States and individual state education agencies. But even in those states, the rules are fairly loose – merely requiring school to start before or after a certain date – and waivers for individual districts are not uncommon.

Contrary to popular belief, the school calendar isn’t a relic of the nation’s agrarian past . In fact, into the early 20th century, rural schools typically operated summer and winter sessions, with children working on farms in spring and fall to help with planting and harvesting. Urban schools, on the other hand, were open nearly year-round, though many children attended sporadically or for just part of the year.

Between roughly 1880 and 1920, urban and rural school calendars converged into more or less the pattern we know today, driven by factors such as pressure from education reformers, the high cost of keeping schools open year-round, the shift from one-room schoolhouses to age-graded education , and lower attendance in urban schools during the summer months (especially as family vacations grew in popularity).

Another possible explanation, for both the traditional calendar and the regional clustering of start dates, is “network effects,” in which a given standard becomes more useful as it’s adopted more widely. It’s easier, for instance, for a school district to recruit teachers from neighboring districts if those districts are on similar schedules.

School start dates could vary even more in the future with climate change. Some education experts predict hotter temperatures may force districts to adjust their start dates or times , especially in places like the Southwest, if schools can’t update air conditioning systems or make other accommodations.

Note: This is an update of a post originally published Aug. 14, 2019.

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A first-generation college student’s guide to navigating the application process.

Senior Associate, JPMorgan Chase

If you’re the first person in your immediate family who’ll be attending college, you may be on your way to becoming a first-generation college student. While this may feel intimidating, know that you aren’t alone. According to recent data by the Center for First-Generation Student Success, about one in four college students have parents who didn’t attend any form of schooling after high school.

Being the first person in your family to attend college is an outstanding achievement. Not only will you be furthering your education, but you’ll also set yourself up for future career success . While you don’t need a college degree to land a job, some estimates show that having a bachelor’s degree may help you earn 84% more than having only a high school diploma . A college degree may also serve as a buffer during an economic downturn.

Understanding the benefits of college is one thing, but navigating applying and enrolling in college as a first-generation college student is another. How do you get started on your college application journey and ensure your transition is a successful one?

Keep reading as we break down the college application process for first-generation college students and provide resources that may help you on your journey.

What’s a first-generation college student?

First things first, what’s a first-generation college student? According to the federal government, a first-generation college student is someone whose parents did not complete a bachelor's degree or some kind of higher education. In a scenario in which you only lived with one parent your whole life who cared financially for you (and this could be for many reasons), and this parent didn’t complete a bachelor’s degree, and you end up attending college, you too count as a first-generation college student under this definition. This definition is important to understand because the federal government uses it to determine eligibility for financial aid programs like the TRIO programs, for instance.

The definition of what a first-generation college student is may vary among colleges and universities, though. For instance, the University of Pennsylvania definition includes students whose parents received a degree outside of the U.S.

Given that institutions define first-generation student differently and offer benefits and resources to first-generation students specifically, you may want to check with college and university admissions offices during the application process to see if you qualify as a first-generation student, according to their unique standards.

How to apply to college as a first-generation student

The college application process may feel daunting, especially if you don’t have parents or immediate family who’ve attended college to guide you. During the process, you’ll have to research colleges, study for standardized exams, fill out school applications, potentially apply for financial aid, and decide where to attend. Fortunately, many resources are at your disposal to make these responsibilities easier.

Checklist for first-generation college students applying to college

Here’s a list that may help you prepare for college applications.

1. Start preparing early (like in your sophomore year of high school)

• Research potential colleges and universities to understand their offerings, campus culture, and admissions requirements.
• Identify the type of college experience you want (size, location, majors, extracurriculars).

2. Understand the academic requirements you need to meet

• Understand your target schools’ grade point average (GPA) and standardized test score requirements.
• Consider meeting with your high school academic advisor and college counselor often to ensure you’re enrolled in the right classes and overall tracking toward your goal of attending college.

3. Prepare for standardized tests

• Register for the SAT or ACT exams and check if your desired schools require or recommend taking them.
• Prepare for these exams using online resources, books, or classes.

4. Research and apply for financial aid and scholarships

• Fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA ® ) to determine if you're eligible for federal financial aid along with other types of financial aid.
• Consider researching and applying for scholarships. Consider looking for those that specifically support first-generation students (see below for tips for this).

5. If you’re able to, plan college visits

• Schedule campus visits if it’s feasible for you to get a feel for the environment and ask questions.
• Attend college fairs in your area and meet with college admissions representatives.

6. Tee up your letters of recommendation

• Identify teachers, counselors, or mentors who can write strong, personal recommendations.
• Request these letters well in advance of deadlines.

7. Prepare your personal statement and essays

• Start brainstorming and drafting your college essays early (see below for tips for this).
• Have teachers, counselors, and others review your essays for feedback.

8. Complete your college applications

• Familiarize yourself with the Common App (which you can use to apply to over 1,000 U.S. colleges) and individual college applications.
• Complete all sections of applications carefully and accurately.

9. Keep track of deadlines to make sure you meet them

• There are many deadlines to keep track of during the college process, including college application deadlines, financial aid deadlines, and scholarships deadlines.
• Consider Early Decision or Early Action applications in which you’d apply to colleges earlier in the process.

10. Utilize all the resources that you can

• Connect with organizations and programs that support first-generation college students.
• Look for mentorship programs at potential colleges and within your community to help with the college process.

11. Undergo interview preparation

• If interviews are required, prepare by practicing with teachers, counselors, or mentors.
• Research common interview questions and think about your responses.

12. Do a final review and submit your applications

• Review all materials for completeness and accuracy.
• Submit applications and confirm receipt with each college.

13. Start preparing to enroll in college

• Prepare for potential waitlist or deferral outcomes that may come from your college applications.
• Accept an offer and complete any necessary steps for enrollment.

First-generation college student essay tips

As covered briefly above, you’ll likely need to write one or several personal essays during the college application process. As a first-generation college student, your college essay is a unique opportunity to showcase your perspectives, experiences, and the obstacles you’ve overcome on your road to college.

You may want to begin by reflecting on your journey — what being the first in your family to attend college means to you, the challenges you’ve faced, and how these experiences have shaped your ambitions and character. By crafting a compelling essay, you may help admissions officers understand your background and the resilience you bring to your educational pursuits.

As you write your essay, you may want to focus on specifics rather than generalities to bring your story to life. Instead of simply stating that you’ve faced challenges, describe a moment that illustrates how you’ve been challenged and how you responded. Remember, the goal is to let college admissions committees see the world through your eyes and appreciate the context of your achievements.

After you have a draft of your essay or essays ready, don’t hesitate to seek feedback from teachers, mentors, and counselors who understand the college application process. They may be able to provide valuable insights into how college admissions officers might perceive your essays. 

First-generation college student scholarship tips

As briefly covered above, alongside the college application process, if you’re looking for financial aid to support your college journey, you may consider looking into scholarships specifically for first-generation college students. Some organizations and nonprofits are specifically seeking to help students like you.

Here are a few scholarships you may consider as a first-generation college student:

• The Thurgood Marshall College Fund and The Sallie Mae Fund Completing The Dream Gap Scholarship
• Esperanza Scholarship Foundation Dollars for Scholars Scholarship
• The National Society of High School Scholars First Generation Scholarship
• EducationDynamics Minority First Generation Scholarship Contest

Programs that support first-generation college students

If the steps involved in applying for college seem overwhelming, the good news is that many programs aim to support first-generation college students on their educational journey. Here are a few.  

College Track Scholar Program

College Track is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping students with limited resources achieve their dream of attending college. The organization works with students from the time they’re in ninth grade through college to help them on their journey to receiving a bachelor’s degree.

At the high school level, they help students through academic learning labs, college counseling, and even individualized coaching. When students reach college, the organization helps with career readiness, community building, and financial wellness activities. Finally, they provide early career support in the first two years after a student’s college graduation.

Let’s Get Ready

Let’s Get Ready prioritizes admittance for students who meet specific criteria, such as first-generation college students or students from historically underrepresented communities. It provides students with free college application support with help from peer-led coaches and virtual SAT exam prep courses, and other tools. For those who’d like to seek help from someone who’s been in their shoes, Let’s Get Ready pairs program participants with current college students who act as mentors.

America Needs You

For first-generation students already enrolled in college, America Needs You is a nonprofit organization with a Fellows Program that supports low-income, first-generation college students with resources to help them successfully graduate college, succeed in their careers, and remain competitive in today’s workforce. The Fellows Program helps with internship placements, provides up to $1,000 in grant funding annually, and offers one-on-one mentorship to all enrollees.

Navigating the summer before college starts as a first-generation college student

After you commit to college, you may want to see if any summer orientation programs or bridge programs at your chosen college specifically for first-generation students are available to you before you start school.

Some colleges offer orientation programs that bring together faculty, students, and in some cases, family members to help ensure first-generation students have an easy transition into college life.

If the college you’re enrolling in offers one of these programs, consider taking part. They typically last from between two to four weeks during the summer months. During these programs, you can also ask questions related to everything from picking out classes to navigating dorm life if you plan to live on-campus. You can also start to make college friends.

Final thoughts

If you’re a first-generation student embarking on your college journey, know that it may feel confusing at first, though many resources are available to help. Above all else, as you undergo this journey, you should feel proud that you’re the first in your family to start this path toward higher education. You may inspire many others in your professional and personal circles for years to come.  

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6 Common Leadership Styles — and How to Decide Which to Use When

• Rebecca Knight

Being a great leader means recognizing that different circumstances call for different approaches.

Research suggests that the most effective leaders adapt their style to different circumstances — be it a change in setting, a shift in organizational dynamics, or a turn in the business cycle. But what if you feel like you’re not equipped to take on a new and different leadership style — let alone more than one? In this article, the author outlines the six leadership styles Daniel Goleman first introduced in his 2000 HBR article, “Leadership That Gets Results,” and explains when to use each one. The good news is that personality is not destiny. Even if you’re naturally introverted or you tend to be driven by data and analysis rather than emotion, you can still learn how to adapt different leadership styles to organize, motivate, and direct your team.

Much has been written about common leadership styles and how to identify the right style for you, whether it’s transactional or transformational, bureaucratic or laissez-faire. But according to Daniel Goleman, a psychologist best known for his work on emotional intelligence, “Being a great leader means recognizing that different circumstances may call for different approaches.”

• RK Rebecca Knight is a journalist who writes about all things related to the changing nature of careers and the workplace. Her essays and reported stories have been featured in The Boston Globe, Business Insider, The New York Times, BBC, and The Christian Science Monitor. She was shortlisted as a Reuters Institute Fellow at Oxford University in 2023. Earlier in her career, she spent a decade as an editor and reporter at the Financial Times in New York, London, and Boston.

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What is Ethical Leadership and Why is it Important?

Ethical leadership is not only the right thing to do, it is key to driving an organization's success.

Valerie Kirk

Errors, bad behavior, and poor judgment in leadership can negatively impact a company’s brand and reputation. For business success, it’s critical for organizations to fill their C-suite with ethical leaders.

Ethical leadership involves leaders and managers making decisions based on the right thing to do for the common good, not just based on what is best for themselves or for the bottom line. While profits are important, ethical leaders take into consideration the needs of customers, communities, and employees in addition to company growth and revenue when making business decisions. 

Ethical leaders encourage their team members to model this behavior, too. They help to build a workplace culture that values transparency, collaboration and inclusion, and where everyone feels safe to share their voice.

They can also help organizations recruit and retain top talent. Professionals are increasingly seeking out companies whose leaders strive to do the right thing. Generation Z, who will make up 25 percent of the workforce by 2025, demands leadership ethics more than generations that came before them. 

“Gen Z is not going to negotiate. They have really strong values and ethics, and they don’t bend them because of intimidation or because they are just getting a paycheck,” said Michael McCarthy, instructor at Harvard Division of Continuing Education’s Professional & Executive Development and host of the “ Happy at Work ” podcast. “The idea of letting harmful or hurtful behavior slide is not acceptable.”

Leaders who weigh ethical considerations before making key business decisions drive a company’s long-term success. 

The 6 Main Principles of Ethical Leadership

Having ethical leaders isn’t as simple as hiring “good” people. Companies should strive to fill their leadership ranks with people who embody the principles of ethical leadership. The six main principles include: 

Respect includes valuing others’ skills and contributions. While historically respect in the workplace may have been one-way (leaders demanding respect from employees), in an ethical work environment, respect is mutual. 

Mutual respect leads to healthier workplace relationships where both sides appreciate and support what the other is doing and feel secure in talking through issues and challenges. Healthy relationships create positive work environments, which drives increased productivity.

Current and upcoming business leaders should take mutual respect into account as workforce expectations continue to shift.  

“I tell current leadership to respect Gen Z. They have values and morals, and you’re going to have a better organization because of them,” McCarthy said. “They aren’t going to put up with the old hierarchy that doesn’t offer mutual respect.” 

2. Accountability

Ethical leaders hold themselves accountable for their actions. They make decisions based on integrity and stand behind their work. They also lead by example, communicate openly about challenges, and don’t look to place blame on others for any shortfalls.

Leaders make ethical decisions based on doing what is right for employees, customers, and the community. Because these constituents are always top of mind for ethical leaders, they often have a strong sense of service. They engage in activities such as charitable giving and volunteer work to give  back to their communities — and encourage their teams to do the same. 

Leaders who are transparent build trust amongst their organizations and amongst customers. 

To build and maintain trust, leaders must be good communicators who speak openly and honestly about issues. Regardless of the issue’s severity or unpopularity, leaders’ responsibility to be clear and candid  empowers others to make the right decisions with the information they have. 

Honesty and transparency also help to build a brand’s reputation, leading to long-term customer loyalty.

Justice is not just about following the law, but about ensuring that everyone is getting what they deserve. Ethical leaders approach situations with a focus on treating everyone fairly, and they expect their teams to treat each other and customers the same way. Through their actions, they build equitable work environments where everyone feels respected. 

6. Community

Ethical leaders view their companies as communities and consider everyone involved when evaluating situations and making decisions. By viewing their organizations this way, they build equity and inclusion into their decision-making process and create work environments that encourage collaboration across teams. 

Learn more about Harvard DCE’s Ethical Leadership program

Examples of Positive and Negative Ethical Leadership

The following three examples are of companies that were faced with ethical dilemmas and how different leadership styles led to vastly different outcomes. 

Johnson & Johnson

One of the most famous examples of ethical leadership was the case of the Tylenol cyanide poisonings in the early 1980s. Seven people died of cyanide poisoning, and the only connecting factor was that they had all taken extra-strength Tylenol. During investigation, it was discovered that the tablets were laced with cyanide.

Johnson & Johnson’s leaders acted quickly and pulled all Tylenol products off the shelves — 31 million bottles, worth over $100 million — and stopped all production and advertising. The swiftness of their decision, although costly, put customers’ well-being first and saved lives.

They partnered with law enforcement to find the perpetrator and subsequently developed the first-ever tamper-resistant packaging. They were transparent with the public about what they were doing to ensure this tragedy never happened again. 

The Tylenol brand recovered from the incident, largely because of Johnson & Johnson’s ethical leadership team’s swift action and transparent care for customers.

In 2008, JetBlue left passengers stranded on the tarmac at the John F. Kennedy International Airport for more than five hours during a snowstorm. The delay had a ripple effect — JetBlue had to cancel more than 1,000 flights over the following five days.

In response, JetBlue’s CEO wrote a letter of apology to customers. He also directed his team to draft a customer bill of rights, which outlined customers’ rights to information about flights and information about compensation in the event of delays or cancellations.

The CEO also participated in a public apology tour, taking full responsibility for the incident rather than blaming it on the weather.

His transparency and accountability created trust with customers, who stayed loyal to the airline.

Wells Fargo

In September 2016 , it was revealed that employees of Wells Fargo, one of the largest banks in the United States, opened millions of unauthorized accounts in order to meet aggressive sales targets. This widespread fraudulent activity was the result of a work culture that prioritized quantity over quality and pushed employees to engage in unethical practices.

Company leaders denied knowledge of fraudulent practices. The bank was hit with significant financial penalties, but because of the lack of accountability, they damaged the trust of their customers and investors. They reported a 50 percent profit loss in the quarter following the scandal.

Meeting the Ethical Challenges of Leadership

Companies cannot underestimate the power of different leadership styles on their growth and long term success. Those who practice ethical leadership have positive corporate cultures where employees are engaged, motivated, and feel good about coming to work. Companies without ethical leadership face lower productivity and high turnover rates, impacting the organization’s bottom line.

Ethical leaders aren’t just born with these skills — they develop them over years of experience and training. 

Harvard DCE Professional & Executive Development offers a two-day Ethical Leadership program that helps leaders develop skills to make ethical choices and lead companies through challenging dilemmas. 

Topics covered include: 

• Making ethical decisions with conflicting responsibilities 
• Building a moral framework within yourself and the organization
• Understanding the role of employees in both their professional and personal lives 
• Navigating a slippery slope when seemingly good people do bad things
• Building a corporate culture that values moral behavior

Learn more about the ethical leadership program, including how to register.  

Leaders looking to expand their ethical leadership skills should also consider the two-day Authentic Leadership program , where they will learn how to develop mindfulness and authenticity to build trust, create engagement, and promote productivity. 

Explore all Executive Leadership and Management courses

About the Author

Valerie Kirk is a freelance writer and corporate storyteller specializing in customer and community outreach and topics and trends in education, technology, and healthcare. Based in Maryland near the Chesapeake Bay, she spends her free time exploring nature by bike, paddle board, or on long hikes with her family.

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This Quote Means: ‘If you want to test a man’s character, give him power’

The quote speaks of the moral and ethical implications of wielding power. here’s a brief look at how power has been viewed by some great philosophers and political scientists, and what this quote argues. ethics also forms a part of the upsc cse syllabus..

Power is a subject to which philosophers and thinkers have devoted a great deal of thought – in defining it, in discussing who wields it, what ought to be done with it, and whether power is inherently a good or bad thing.

In popular culture too, quotes such as “With great power comes great responsibility”, and “Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely” give great weight to it. Another popular quote says: “If you want to test a man’s character, give him power”.

Popularly attributed to US President Abraham Lincoln, it likely has another source but is nevertheless a testament to power being linked to larger ethics and morality. What exactly does it say about the nature of power, and how does it differ from other views on the matter? We explain. Further, topics related to ethics and morality also form a part of the UPSC CSE syllabus.

What does this quote mean?

According to a Reuters fact-check from 2021, the quote comes from an American politician named Robert G Ingersoll, who said it about Lincoln.

In an 1883 speech, he reportedly said: “If you want to find out what a man is to the bottom, give him power. Any man can stand adversity — only a great man can stand prosperity. It is the glory of Abraham Lincoln that he never abused power only on the side of mercy.”

It argues that in times of trouble, every person gets down to their survival instincts. However, it is when a person is given power, which may be understood as the capacity to affect or change things meaningfully, that we get a sense of what their true character is like.

Power can also mean control over resources. A poor person may not be able to accomplish what she wants, or transform her intentions (good or bad) into reality. But when someone has power, they can make a difference, and it is then that we can understand a person’s true character.

Even at an individual or micro level, this can be witnessed to a degree, say when someone becomes the head of a local neighbourhood association or becomes in charge of organising an event. As part of the responsibilities they are given, do they become a team player or simply give instructions to others? Are they more interested in letting their vision prevail or are they open to criticism? Are they using that power for their benefit, say by asking others to do their work for them? In this way, power allows us to understand a person’s worldview.

On a larger level, when politicians get elected to powerful posts, or when bureaucrats or judges or media persons have to handle big issues related to their jobs that can affect thousands of people, one can witness their values and ethics through their work.

Different views of power

Nivedita Menon, a professor of political thought at Jawaharlal Nehru University, wrote that in political and social theory, “power refers to the ability to do things and the capacity to produce effects within social interaction.” Therefore, it is deeply connected to not individuals but them in relation to others.

Political scientist Hannah Arendt viewed power not just as coercion but as a tool of communication between people. No one can suddenly emerge and exercise power – it is something that gets its legitimacy from a group of people who agree to be part of a system.

She wrote, “power needs no justification, being inherent in the very existence of political communities; what it does need is legitimacy… Power springs up whenever people get together and act in concert, but it derives its legitimacy from the initial getting together rather than from any action that then may follow.”

In that sense, power can be energising. A democratically elected leader may choose to fix a broken system since he derives his authority from the community he is from. He could be aware that his power comes from deliberations, discussions, and a history of larger forces keeping people working together. He would then want to use it to better the lives of people in that community.

On the other hand, several Marxist scholars view power as the ability of dominant groups or economic classes in society to exercise control over others. For others, it is simply a tool to make someone do what they want.

Further, obtaining power is one thing, but maintaining it might compel a person to make decisions that are often amoral. As a result, the intention of doing something when one gets power can be noble, but the practical realities in society may make it difficult to be ethical in its exercise.

Although it is not a justification for all unethical actions, it is a criticism against the idea that all actions of a person in power directly reflect their character. They can also reflect the time they are in or the systems they are a part of, and could be linked to larger externalities.

Lastly, the quote also makes another assertion – that “any man can stand adversity”. Tough times – losing a loved one, money, or other intangible things of value – can force a man to fend for himself. But in that situation, if they are kind and choose to do good for others, is that also not a show of their character? It thus raises the question, is power the right judge of a person’s character?

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Why is 4/20 celebrated? Origin story behind popular weed holiday may surprise you.

Saturday, April 20, is 4/20 — an informal holiday for marijuana users. Even if you don't partake in cannabis-related activities, you might be wondering...

Why is 4/20 associated with weed?

There are many theories about why "4/20" is associated with marijuana, some with more validity than others. Perhaps the most plausible origin story comes from five teenagers in a California high school.

One rumor, which has been proven false, is that "420” is code among police officers for “marijuana smoking in progress." Another points to a vague reference in a 1966 Bob Dylan song .

People are also reading: How a group of teens getting high spawned a global cannabis-lovers event

Popular lore  ties the birth of "4/20" to a group of high schoolers attending Northern California's San Rafael High School in the early 1970s. The five teens – Steve Capper, Dave Reddix, Jeffrey Noel, Larry Schwartz and Mark Gravich – became known as the “Waldos” because they met by a wall.

The students met at 4:20 p.m. by the statue of chemist Louis Pasteur to smoke weed, presumably because most extracurricular activities had ended by that time.

“We weren’t stupid stoners,” Capper, 68, an original Waldo said, pointing to a certificate for exceptional achievement and citizenship he received in school. The Waldos engaged in after-school activities like sports and studying, so 4:20 was chosen as the time the group could all meet up. The rest is history.

“We got tired of the Friday-night football scene with all of the jocks," Reddix told TIME Magazine in 2017 . "We were the guys sitting under the stands smoking a doobie, wondering what we were doing there."

Reddix would later work with Phil Lesh, the bass guitarist for the rock band "The Grateful Dead." According to TIME Magazine , the band popularized the term. On Dec. 28, 1990, a group of the band's fans, known as "Deadheads," passed out flyers in north California encouraging people to smoke on April 20 at 4:20 p.m. One of the flyers was published in cannabis-culture magazine High Times .

Can marijuana be used recreationally in Texas?

In Texas and federal law, recreational use of marijuana is still illegal. Depending on how much a person is in possession of, the consequences vary.

People are also reading: Marijuana laws in Texas are confusing. Here's a guide to know what is and isn't legal

The Texas Health and Safety Code  states that possession of marijuana two ounces or less is considered a Class B misdemeanor.

Will marijuana be legal in Texas in 2024?

For now, it’s unlikely. However, recent laws have taken place to decriminalize marijuana laws in the state.

In 2019, Gov. Greg Abbott signed  House Bill 1325  into law. The law allows the production, manufacture, retail sale, and inspection of industrial hemp crops and products in Texas granted that they stay at 0.3% or less  delta-9 THC level . This also includes products for consumable hemp products that contain cannabidiol (CBD), as well as other edible parts of the hemp plant.