The power of eduction cannot be overstated

Ihave learned the transformational power of education. I was a kid who always enjoyed school and learning, but for many years, I tried to hide my school successes.

As a youngster, I would sometimes put wrong answers on tests to avoid being in a situation where I was publicly awarded with a certificate for my educational accomplishments.

Lately, I’ve found myself speaking to people about how much I value education. I’ve had this conversation with children, friends, and business colleagues. In each instance, it comes up in a different context and I always find another reason to share my gratitude for my educational experiences.

I was a kid who always enjoyed school and learning, but I wasn’t the student who would want to boast. I went many years as a youngster who would try and hide my school successes.

My most embarrassing experience in Grade 7 was when I got called up in a school assembly to receive an honour roll certificate in front of all of my peers. At that point, I’d just been accepted by the “cool” kids who were what my grandmother would have called “rapscallions.”

I was finally cool.

When the principal called my name, I left the group of cool kids I was sitting with on the gymnasium floor to accept my coloured paper certificate and sit in a row of chairs on the stage with the other honour roll students. I was not impressed.

Then the principal called my name again, saying: “…and for perfect attendance Charla Huber.”

I was mortified and now holding two coloured paper certificates.

For the rest of the school year, I would put wrong answers on tests and try to scale down my assignments because I never wanted to get that certificate publicly ever again.

I realize now that I should have asked not to be called out in the assembly to solve the problem.

I liked school and enjoyed learning, but I was never a person who prioritized the accomplishment or would tell others there was value in it. It was just something I enjoyed.

I left home at 18 with a backpack of clothes and started my adult life. After working many entry-level jobs, I earned a diploma in journalism and photojournalism in my mid-20s.

I didn’t enter any schooling again until my mid-30s. At that point, I wanted to enhance my career.

I knew I was smart, but I wanted the “piece of paper” to help me demonstrate that to others. (I still didn’t truly understand or value education at this point.) In the next few years, I earned a master’s degree, an associate certificate and a professional designation.

I was able to cover the costs with my employer’s support, grants and scholarships. It was then that I realized that these weren’t just pieces of paper. I had grown and developed in ways I never anticipated.

I did learn new things, but mostly it was my growth in demonstrating my learning and my skills.

Today, I work as an Indigenous communication consultant and demonstrating my knowledge and skills is what I do.

Surprising to me, I am also an associate faculty member at Royal Roads University gearing up to teach multicultural management and communication this fall.

A few years ago, I wouldn’t have been the person promoting the value of education. I honestly did not fully understand how education could transform me the way that it did.