Price of education
How much money will you spend to get a “great” education? Society often prioritizes money, fame, and success. The amount of money to educate children and get them into the top brand name universities is something often discussed among families. I have asked this myself, how much money should I spend to get into a top university?
On the one hand, education, and the knowledge you gain from people more experienced or wiser is priceless. I remember a time staring at a computer for hours, trying to figure out how to solve a certain code to get the function to run. After many tries, I felt my mind wanting to abandon the hopes of perfecting coding and possibly building a tech-related career. It was during that time of despair that my older brother sat next to me, gave me a pat of consolation, and demonstrated the complex steps to figuring out the code. It was not only that he explained the process, but that he stood by me in my moment of despair. He inspired me to keep trying and to finally learn to code on my own. His teaching at that time, I consider priceless for my academic growth and future success.
Education is priceless, true, but it can also be distorted or corrupted. Parents invest their money in expensive programs because they believe that the purpose of their children’s education is to get them into the name brand colleges. Many academies advertise their students’ acceptance rates for Ivy League and other name brand universities. This feeds into the popular myth that education is taught for students to get into prestigious colleges, thus causing parents to spend more money on “more successful” academies. The current system implies that the amount of education earned depends on the amount of money you invest.
But historian John Henrick reminds us that the true purpose of education is not entry into prestigious universities, but to become self-reliant.
Self-reliance allows students to not only explore themselves but also the direction they want to follow. Education is meant for students to learn from wiser and more experienced mentors so that they can master a particular field and teach others in turn.
I started this essay by asking how much money I would spend on my education. However, after reflection, I realize that the more important question is, “How should I spend the money?” If parents feel that education is about self-reliance, then they would invest their money in activities that further their children’s personal and academic growth.
Academies that advertise acceptance to top universities end up making most students feel like failures because most do not get accepted to Ivy League universities. But academies that focus on personal growth can help all their students feel successful. Unlike Ivy League acceptance, self-reliance is something that everyone can strive for and accomplish.