Education is a Privilege

Education is a Privilege

emily4_11

This is my public service announcement for the week: Get an education.

No one can ever take the gift of an education away from you. It is your key to opening many doors in life.

Today, I’m sitting in a local coffee shop while working on my computer and getting my daily dose of green tea. I am accidentally eavesdropping on a conversation between a mother and her son sitting at the table right behind me. (They are loud talkers, so I cannot help but hear their conversation!)

Evidently, this particular mom has chosen to homeschool her son, which is a great opportunity for their family. However, the mother is threatening to send her son to a traditional school as a consequence if he does not follow her rules. How have we gotten to the point in our culture that people use “going to school” as a punishment? NO! NO! NO!

There are people all over the world who do whatever it takes and sacrifice whatever they have to in order to send their children to school.

Going to school, in any form, is a PRIVILEGE. It is not a consequence of bad behavior.

Please understand… I do not want to enter into a mommy war about how to educate our children and what type of schooling is best. Every family’s situation is unique and most people have a very strong opinion on this subject. I simply want parents to instill a sense of gratitude for getting an education, no matter what form it takes.

I have never met an adult that says, “My parents were horrible. They actually made me go to school and now I have an education. What a waste of my time that was. I could have been home playing video games or watching television.”

I meet people from all walks of life and socio-economic backgrounds in my financial planning practice. Now that I have written Faithful Finance: Money Essentials and Biblical Principles, my net is being cast even further. I am able to connect with people all over the world. If they ask me how they can better their life financially, I will always tell them to make sure they are educated for the career path they have chosen.

I also encourage instilling the same value of education in their children. Education is one of the core principles to improving your financial situation long term and obtaining financial freedom.

Education is not just for children. The pursuit of knowledge is a lifestyle and something that can continue throughout your lifetime. It never has to end. Higher education comes in many different forms, not just a four-year college degree. There are trade schools, community colleges, online universities, culinary schools, art schools, community centers offering informal education on a variety of subjects, and libraries full of books to read and learn from.

Let’s get back to the point where we all remember what a GIFT it is to be educated. It is a privilege and not a punishment. Let’s commit today to never take for granted the opportunity to further develop our minds and improve our future through the portal of an education.

For the protection of wisdom is like the protection of money, and the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the life of him who has it.
Ecclesiastes 7:12