Three Reasons Why I Believe Education Matters
In the summer of 1989 sitting on the front porch with Horace King, my grandfather, I foolishly asked, “How did you get to be so smart with just a sixth grade education?” In addition to being a farmer with a sixth grade education, he was also father of 9, sibling of 5, loving grandfather, deacon of his church, and formerly co-owner of a lumber mill. His response to me, “When you don’t know much, you listen.” I sat silently beside him and waited. He continued to teach me until his death in 1994. Still, I learn from his quiet example.
Teachers want their students to learn.
Children want to learn. Naturally students question and possess a strong desire to learn. The complication often begins in schools when what teachers must teach differs from what students wish to learn. Who is at fault? Is it the teacher? The school? The curriculum? The policy? Does it reside with the student? The family? The community? Or is it just a mixed communication that puts teachers and students at what appears to be cross purposes. I believe it is the latter. Both teachers and students are well-intended. Yet, somehow for teaching and learning to occur, we must move beyond any finger pointing and find common ground. Then, we may work through the apparent conflicts to get to genuine teaching and learning. This is the first reason that education matters. Education allows us to move from knowing to confusion to learning.
Many seek rights for others.
We advocate for basic unalienable civil rights for children, teachers, humans, animals, and many others. The list ends here not as an effort to exclude, but as an attempt to acknowledge my list is just the beginning. All perspectives cannot be listed or experienced by an individual. If I were to attempt such a task, I would fail miserably. I will disclose my own perspectives in hopes that this makes it clear that I am aware of at least some perspectives that impact my view of education and the world, if only to affirm that all views matter because everyone counts. I am person with a strong faith, a single mother of an 11 year old daughter, an African American who grew up in poverty and graduated from Vanderbilt University, southern born and raised, living in Central New York, and a never-ending believer in both public and private education, the underdog, and in working hard. I am an eternal optimist, a researcher, and at the heart of it all a student.
Education matters because it provides opportunities and choices.
We teach and learn from children. Education also is an institution where basic rights always matter. At its best, education is a place where individuals should feel that their rights, interests, and even their identities are represented. Education is for all and not limited to the classroom, school, or university. Education is varied and ongoing. While we may agree that some basic skills exist that need to be taught, we may also decide that the most wonderful parts of education are the choices that it affords. We all have the right and responsibility to make about what we learn and what we teach. Yet, no one has the right to keep others from learning. Thus the power of education is its ability to transforms us. Let the learning begin.
So, whether you are a seasoned researcher, first year teacher, parent of a college student, or seeking answers for yourself or your young child, this is the place for you. The learning continues and not just from books but also from life. We always learn from others. As my grandfather taught me nearly 30 years ago, I now know. When I don’t know much, I should just listen. While I listen, I watch, learn, and help others. There’s someone to whom I can read; another who will read to me, and someone who still needs a teacher. Who will be that teacher? Will it be you?
A special thanks to all those who teach me daily through interactions on Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, e-mail, texts, journals, and face to face encounters. Each of you matter!
Alanna Rochelle Dail is an Assistant Professor of Literacy Education at Syracuse University.
