The simplest answer to the question of why a modern person needs education will be the obvious reasons - to be able to get a good job and ensure the desired standard of living. However, there are also others that touch on deeper things. For example, education helps a person understand what he wants to do, what talents he has, what he is capable of, and allows him to learn how to communicate with people. Education is important for a person's self-determination and is associated not only with obtaining an academic credential, as many think.
What does education give a modern person?
There are many reasons to have an education these days, and they are all different in nature - from financial stability and equality, in which women can earn a living on an equal basis with men, to basic self-confidence. And if we consider the global context, the higher the education of the population, the stronger its competitiveness in the world economic arena.
On this occasion, there are many clever words from people who have achieved heights in life. One of these statements belongs to Donald Trump. In our free retelling, the thought is the following - if you consider getting an education expensive, then imagine how many opportunities will be missed if you do not have it.
It's hard to argue with the veracity of these words. Let's go back to the past and try to understand whether education has always been vital, or is it some kind of conventional stereotype that stretches from the past - "a person without education cannot achieve anything."
Historical background to the importance of education
The parents of modern children, have been repeating from childhood: "if you don't study, you go to work as a janitor." The implication is not that the profession of a janitor is not respectable, but that with it a person has fewer opportunities, although it can bring pleasure. More than one generation of children has grown up on this stable expression. Since when did education move on a par with the basic skills needed not just to survive, but to thrive?
From a historical point of view, the period of education in Russia begins with the Baptism of Rus and the introduction of writing by Cyril and Methodius. Since all church scriptures and prayers were in Byzantine, it became necessary to translate them, so monasteries became the first "schools", since working people do not need to read and write. After some time, the so-called schools began to open at the princely courts in Novgorod and Kiev. A few more decades later, in 1068, the first school appeared on the territory of Kiev, where women could receive education - for those times, tangible progress, because women's mission was reduced only to housekeeping.
The first higher school on Russian soil appeared in 1687 - it was the Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy. And since the 1760s, education has already begun to acquire a status: educational institutions for ordinary people and for the upper classes, where the children of nobles studied (for example, the Smolny Institute for Noble Maidens), have appeared. Even then, a person with education could be easily distinguished by speech, manner of behaving and possessing a certain store of knowledge.
Since the beginning of the 19th century, education in Russia has been consistently provided in parish schools, district schools, provincial gymnasiums and universities. The first two types of institutions were free and non-religious, that is, anyone who wanted to and had at least some knowledge could get there. The educational system did not cease to undergo transformations: universities were either deprived of autonomy, then they received it again, programs for studying women were opened almost at the level of higher education.
After the October Revolution, education became meaningless and generally accessible, and by the beginning of the 20th century, the Soviet government introduced a decree on the elimination of illiteracy of the population. Since 1923, education has become paid in the senior classes and universities. Certain categories of citizens were exempted from financial contributions (military, educational workers, disabled people, peasants, pensioners, fellows, people with the title of Hero).
Since 1977, the Constitution has approved the Law on the guaranteed right of every citizen of the country to free secondary specialized or higher education, even state scholarships have been introduced for excellent academic performance. For better motivation at the state level, there was a system of distribution for employment in a specialty. It is possible that it was this Soviet scheme that influenced the opinion that if there is education, then there will be work.
However, since the collapse of the USSR and the 1990s, Russian education has undergone reforms again:
- Development focus shifts to private educational institutions
- Education is gradually ceasing to be free
- The state system of employment for graduates of universities and technical schools is canceled
- The general orientation of the educational process is changing.
And so we came to the education scheme that people have in Russia now:
- The emphasis from the development of the system of vocational schools is replaced by the development of the personality of students, the formation of certain knowledge and skills for non-work activities
- Transition to a multilevel system of higher education (bachelor's and master's degrees in the Bologna system)
- The introduction of a unified standard for the state examination, combining the final exam from school and the university entrance examinations.
The status of education in modern society
Today everyone understands that there is at least nowhere without secondary education. The stories of grandmothers and grandfathers who graduated from grades 7-9 (and in the villages - 3-4), cause genuine surprise among modern youth. Although many students complain about the learning process, they can no longer imagine life without this stage - the compulsory and necessity of secondary education for the majority does not raise doubts.
An illustrative example: if we compare the standard of living and the number of opportunities for people who graduated from grade 9 of secondary school, and similar indicators of those who completed upper secondary education in grade 11, the difference will be obvious. At the very least, such a comparison should inspire education, since many people want to "eat tasty and dress beautifully." Yes, for a while, parents can provide this, but if a teenager wants to stay at a good standard of living, he will have to do something for this.
Getting an education is one of the obvious ways. Another is to start working after receiving a school certificate. On what level - physical or intellectual - you want to work, it will depend on whether you go to college for a labor profession or try to get into a university.
Perhaps this is the main idea that should be gradually conveyed to the younger generation through actual examples and simple schemes: for example, "work-money" - the purchase of goods / services and idleness-lack of money-lack of services.
In any case, a person will have to make efforts, physical or mental. A worker can receive a salary more than an office worker, but the second always has a chance to grow in the hierarchy of intellectual labor. And for a person engaged in physical labor, the path of career growth is to move to a managerial position, where they usually do not take without a certificate of higher education.
Does this mean that without a crust, you cannot succeed and get rich? No, it doesn't. But in this case, efforts will have to be made to achieve a little more: to work when your peers spend time on walks and in clubs.
On the one hand, young people who start working immediately after school grow up quickly and receive their life lessons. On the other hand, in universities, students also gain useful life experience, but in a more benign mode.
TOP-5 reasons to get higher education
With secondary education and obtaining a certificate sorted out. Let's talk about the advantages of further education, about the advantages of higher education in particular. What is the advantage of a high school diploma over a qualification of a secondary specialized level, how can this "piece of paper" affect career growth?
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College or university graduates earn more on average
According to research in Russia, people with higher education receive 64% more wages than young people with only a school certificate. University graduates have a financial income 40% higher than college or vocational school students. The correct choice of education can affect the size of future income with a tangible indicator of almost 50%.
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The educational process helps to form a circle of useful acquaintances.
The second most popular factor affecting career success is the people you know. The wider this circle (horizontal connections) - the more options for the development of events. At a university or college, students get to know a large number of people, expanding their environment: teachers, classmates, representatives of the administration. Quite often, communication continues after graduation, so with the help of established contacts, young people can find work or get a recommendation. Still, subconsciously, people prefer to hire trusted people or those they know.
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New skills allow you to move to a new step in the career ladder
If you already have a job, then obtaining additional knowledge at the university can help expand your professional qualifications and get an upgrade. For example, education in the field of English or translation, obtaining a master's degree for a managerial position. In principle, in order to maintain the tone of attention and memory, it is not recommended to completely stop learning when going to work - then new work skills will be given easier. Most employers highly value the desire of employees to acquire new knowledge, if this is professionally justified and leads to an increase in the quality of work.
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It is easier to get a new one on the basis of the current education
It often happens that young people to study at a university choose not the direction that they are interested in for the future, but with the aim of simply getting a diploma. Even so, the time spent studying at the university should by no means be considered wasted for 2 reasons:
- You have student skills that are good at dealing with life's troubles
- You know what getting higher education is, so getting a new qualification in an interesting field will not be difficult.
Perhaps it will even be possible to combine it with work on a diploma that already exists. All the knowledge gained can be useful, do not forget about it!
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Education reduces the risk of joblessness
Any of the types of education we have named - secondary vocational or higher - tells the employer that a person can do something, potentially suitable for a wide range of work. A candidate with a diploma can earn a place compared to a more experienced applicant without a crust. Most organizations pay attention to the presence of an educational document - sometimes the fact of its presence is enough, even without the coincidence of qualifications with the profession.
Education at all levels has one major advantage - it gives us the opportunity to choose: from the field of activity to the standard of living that you want to afford. And the choice is yours.
