Education as the great equalizer, part IV

June 14, 2010

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In December 1, 2009 the newspaper The Morning News published an Editorial called "Education is the best weapon against poverty".

The article referring to Pee Dee unrelenting poverty proposed: "to break the cycle of poverty young men and women need to attend college or vocational school and earn a degree", and "Experts agree it's the most realistic solution for impoverished people to compete for high-paying jobs and establish a foundation for success."

Considering it a matter of consciousness or on the contrary just because we are selfish people, poverty concerns us. We can't simulate it's not there, we can't put it in a hidden place where it can be forgotten. It concerns us because if we deny the existence of poverty there'll always be a huge price to pay, in quality of life, in shame, and in crime. At last the rust of extreme poverty hits everyone.

In today's economy the importance of &#&high education&#& is evident. To be graduated from a &#&College or University&#& is widely considered as a necessary prerequisite for skilled jobs.

Then the best we can do to fight poverty, or at least one of the best methods we can adopt is to become involved helping people receive the skills they need to avoid slipping into poverty.

There is no doubt in considering education and better &#&high education&#& as a resource that people will be able to use for the whole of their lives. Most probably breaking the cycle of poverty parents who have received &#&high education&#& will pass many of the educational skills they have to their own children.

In his book Children in Jeopardy: Can We Break the Cycle, Irving B. Harris accentuates the importance of starting early in teaching children the importance of education from a very young age as well as promoting family values such as nurturing children and encouraging them to do well in school. We can promote such ideas; every one of us can do this.

There is another point Harris considers of high importance in his book. He says we should find ways in which to help decreasing the phenomenon of teenage and unplanned pregnancy. Again education is the best weapon here. Better educated young women are more in control of their lives and have better self-steam. Education can help parents plan and want a son before giving birth to him, this way the child will have a better chance at breaking the cycle of poverty.

In Paris, 8 July 2009, in the 2009 World Conference on &#&Higher Education&#& Preamble we can find the following concepts.

" At no time in history has it been more important to invest in &#&higher education&#& as a major force in building an inclusive and diverse knowledge society and to advance research, innovation and creativity. The past decade provides evidence that &#&higher education&#& and research contribute to the eradication of poverty?"