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Top 10 Reasons Why Is Education Important

Updated: February 1, 2024

Published: April 15, 2020

Most of us have grown up being taught the importance of education. But why is education important? Through your frustrating school years, you may have thought that it was a waste of time, or was just something that you needed to do in order to get a job. Truth be told, however, education goes so much beyond just getting a job and making your parents happy. In fact, it’s one of the most powerful tools out there.

What Is Education?

Education means studying in order to obtain a deeper knowledge and understanding of a variety of subjects to be applied to daily life. Education is not limited to just knowledge from books, but can also be obtained through practical experiences outside of the classroom.

Top 10 Reasons: Why Is Education Important?

There are many different understandings and definitions of what education is, but one thing can be universally agreed upon, which is the importance of education — and here’s why.

1. Provides Stability

Education provides stability in life, and it’s something that no one can ever take away from you. By being well-educated and holding a college degree , you increase your chances for better career opportunities and open up new doors for yourself.

2. Provides Financial Security

On top of stability, education also provides financial security, especially in today’s society. A good education tends to lead to a higher paying job, as well as provide you with the skills needed to get there. Educated and well-informed individuals also know how to use money-saving tactics. They are more likely to use coupon websites like EMUCoupon while shopping online to save their hard-earned money.

3. Needed For Equality

In order for the entire world to really become equal, it needs to start with education. If everyone was provided with the same opportunities to education , then there would be less gaps between social classes. Everyone would be able to have an equal chance at higher paying jobs — not just those that are already well-off.

4. Allows For Self-Dependency

The importance of education is evident when it comes to being self-dependent. If we are we educated, then it’s something that belongs to us, and only us, allowing us to rely on no one else other than ourselves. It can allow you to not only be financially independent, but also to make your own choices.

5. Make Your Dreams Come True

If you can dream it, you can achieve it. An education is the most powerful weapon you can possibly have, and with it, you can make all of your dreams come true. There are of course certain exceptions, depending on what you’re aiming for, but generally an education will take you as far as you’re willing to go.

6. A Safer World

Education is something that’s not only needed on a personal level, but also on a global level, as it’s something that keeps our world safe and makes it a more peaceful place. Education tends to teach people the difference between right and wrong, and can help people stay out of risky situations.

7. Confidence

Being self-confident is a major part of being successful in life. And what better way to gain that confidence than with an education? Your level of education is often considered a way to prove your knowledge, and it can give you the confidence to express your opinions and speak your mind.

8. A Part Of Society

In today’s society, having an education is considered a vital part of being accepted by those around you. Having an education is believed to make you a useful part of society, and can make you feel like a contributing member as well.

9. Economic Growth On A National Level

An educated society is crucial for economic growth. We need people to continue to learn and research in order to constantly stay innovative. Countries with higher literacy rates also tend to be in better economic situations. With a more educated population, more employment opportunities are opened.

10. Can Protect You

Education can protect you more than you know, not only on a financial level, but it can help prevent you from being taken advantage of by knowing how to read and write, such as knowing not to sign any bogus documents.

Photo by  Pixabay  from  Pexels

Education is important for children.

Children are the future of our world, making education crucial for them. Their knowledge is what’s going to keep our world alive and flourishing.

At Childhood

During the childhood development stages, the importance of education is stronger than ever. It’s a time for children to learn social and mental skills that will be crucial for their growth and success in the future. Education at childhood also offers a chance for self-discovery and to learn about their unique interests.

The importance of education in our lives goes far beyond what we can read in a textbook. Education also provides childhood with knowledge such as how to produce artwork and make music. Education allows us to analyze what’s in front of us, and even learn from our mistakes.

Goal Building

By learning from a young age, children are given the chance to start building goals for themselves. Education means having the logic to set your mind to something and achieve it.

Importance Of Education In Society

For a modern society, education is of utmost importance. There are so many influences coming from all directions, and education can help us decipher what we should take as true, and what we should take with a grain of salt. Education can mold people into functional members of society with the right kinds of values.

Productivity

Education is needed for a productive society. Our population only continues to increase, and in turn, so do our needs. We need a strong and efficient workforce of educated people to provide us with the services we need for everyday life.

Why Is Education Important For a Nation?

The importance of education is seen in every aspect of life, and is especially crucial for the growth of a nation.

The Impact Education Has On The World

With education, people can become better citizens, knowing right from wrong, allowing for a better society where laws are followed. An educated nation knows about the importance of voting, doing so with the knowledge not blindly, but also having an understanding of what their party truly stands for. Education can also help people get jobs, which is what a nation thrives on.

Inspiring Quotes On What Education Truly Is

Why is education important, and what is it exactly? While every person has a different understanding of its true meaning, here are some of the most inspiring quotes by some legendary people.

• “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” — Nelson Mandela
• “Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today.” — Malcolm X
• “An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.” — Benjamin Franklin
• “Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself.” — John Dewey

What Are Some Other Reasons Why Education Is Important?

There are endless reasons why education is so important, especially since it also has endless connotations and meanings.

Mind And Body

Our mind and bodies are connected more than we know. With a powerful, well-educated mind, so too are our bodies.

We can not only know how to best take care of ourselves, but we can feel confident and good about ourselves, which will likely have a positive effect on our physical well-being . Education has even been proven to add years to our life . To be exact, each additional year of education was found to add as much as 1.7 years to our lives at the age of 35.

Personal Growth

The importance of education even extends itself to our personal growth. By constantly educating ourselves, asking questions and wanting to know more, we can move forward and achieve things we never imagined before.

Get To Know Yourself

Education can allow us to get to know ourselves better than ever. We can learn things about ourselves, whether it be through books, courses, or even consulting with a professional.

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Worldwide value.

Education is the best way to ensure a positive world value and view. Without a proper education, how else do we know what’s considered appropriate and how to behave?

While world peace may unfortunately seem like a far-fetched concept, with education we can get closer to this goal than we know. Education can teach us about our place in this world, and about our responsibility to humanity.

Teaches Values

Values are taught through education! Education exists far beyond the classroom or an exam. It’s taught at home, through what our parents and peers show us, and although not necessarily written down somewhere, such a teaching method is still a large aspect of what education entails.

Sharpens Your Thinking

Education is needed to think sharply and clearly!

Makes You Informed

Education makes you informed about the world around you, what’s going on and what kind of people are around you. Education can help you be more self-aware about your strengths and weaknesses, showing you were to shift your focus.

Logical Reasoning

When in an argument, if you aren’t well educated and don’t have your facts straight, then you aren’t likely to win. If you get upset about something, then being educated can also help you logically work through the situation and make sense of it, understanding all aspects.

Stay Focused

Education can help you stay focused and on track in the right direction by knowing what the right path is for you.

Allows For Innovation And Creativity

When it comes to being creative, in any way, shape, or form, the mind can only really reach its full potential if it’s been fed with the knowledge it needs to think outside the box.

Develop Life Skills

Education is the foundation of basic life skills and street smarts. While education might sound like a fancy technical term, it’s really everything we learn in life about how to best conduct ourselves from day to day.

Education can be the most freeing and empowering thing in the entire world!

Live Life To The Fullest

Truly living life to the fullest means being well-educated and holding a vast amount of knowledge about the world around us. It also means we continue to learn every day in all kinds of forms, whether it be from the people around us, newspapers, experiences, research, or traditional classes.

Breaks Barriers

Education breaks barriers between people, and allows people from across the globe to be empowered.

University of the People, a tuition-free , online university, is one powerful example of how education is being revolutionized – they offer students of all socio-economic backgrounds an equal chance at education.

Once upon a time, such a thing wouldn’t have been possible, but today such places like UoPeople have proven that these barriers truly can be broken through to receive higher education.

You Become Your Highest You

Education can allow you to become the best, fullest version of yourself, learning about what interests you, what you’re good at, becoming self-aware and conscious about the world around you. It can help you establish your place in this world, and feel complete.

Education In The Modern World

Education today is more important than ever before, and has reached new heights with new understandings of what it truly entails. Ask yourself “Why is education important?” and it will surely not be the same as anyone else’s answer.

While in modern society, holding a college degree is considered to be highly beneficial for a successful career and to be socially accepted, it is not the only means of education. Education is all around us in everything that we do, so use it wisely!

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Home  /  News  /  Why Is Education Important? The Power Of An Educated Society

Why Is Education Important? The Power Of An Educated Society

Looking for an answer to the question of why is education important? We address this query with a focus on how education can transform society through the way we interact with our environment. 

Whether you are a student, a parent, or someone who values educational attainment, you may be wondering how education can provide quality life to a society beyond the obvious answer of acquiring knowledge and economic growth. Continue reading as we discuss the importance of education not just for individuals but for society as a whole. 

Harness the power of education to build a more sustainable modern society with a degree from  Unity Environmental University .

How Education Is Power: The Importance Of Education In Society

Why is education so important? Nelson Mandela famously said, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” An educated society is better equipped to tackle the challenges that face modern America, including:

• Climate change
• Social justice
• Economic inequality

Education is not just about learning to read and do math operations. Of course, gaining knowledge and practical skills is part of it, but education is also about values and critical thinking. It’s about finding our place in society in a meaningful way. 

Environmental Stewardship

A  study from 2022 found that people who belong to an environmental stewardship organization, such as the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics, are likely to have a higher education level than those who do not. This suggests that quality education can foster a sense of responsibility towards the environment.

With the effects of climate change becoming increasingly alarming, this particular importance of education is vital to the health, safety, and longevity of our society. Higher learning institutions can further encourage environmental stewardship by adopting a  framework of sustainability science .

The Economic Benefits Of Education

Higher education can lead to better job opportunities and higher income. On average, a  person with a bachelor’s degree will make $765,000 more  in their lifetime than someone with no degree. Even with the rising costs of tuition, investment in higher education pays off in the long run. In 2020, the return on investment (ROI) for a college degree was estimated to be  13.5% to 35.9% . 

Green jobs  like environmental science technicians and solar panel installers  have high demand projections for the next decade. Therefore, degrees that will prepare you for one of these careers will likely yield a high ROI. And, many of these jobs only require an  associate’s degree or certificate , which means lower overall education costs. 

Unity  helps students maximize their ROI with real-world experience in the field as an integral part of every degree program. 

10 Reasons Why School Is Important

Education is not just an individual pursuit but also a societal one.  In compiling these reasons, we focused on the question, “How does education benefit society?” Overall, higher education has the power to transform:

• Individuals’ sense of self
• Interpersonal relationships
• Social communities
• Professional communities

Cognitive Development

Neuroscience research  has proven that the brain is a muscle that can retain its neuroplasticity throughout life. However, like other muscles, it must receive continual exercise to remain strong. Higher education allows people of any age to improve their higher-level cognitive abilities like problem-solving and decision-making. This can make many parts of life feel more manageable and help society run smoothly. 

Emotional Intelligence

Emotional intelligence is key to workplace success.  Studies  show that people with emotional intelligence exhibit more:

• Self-awareness
• Willingness to try new things
• Innovative thinking
• Active listening
• Collaboration skills
• Problem-solving abilities

By attending higher education institutions that value these soft skills, students can improve their emotional intelligence as part of their career development in college.

Technological Literacy

Many careers in today’s job market use advanced technology. To prepare for these jobs, young people likely won’t have access to these technologies to practice on their own. That’s part of why so many STEM career paths require degrees. It’s essential to gain technical knowledge and skills through a certified program to safely use certain technologies. And, educated scientists are  more likely to make new technological discoveries .

Cultural Awareness

Education exposes individuals to different cultures and perspectives. Being around people who are different has the powerful ability to foster acceptance. Acceptance benefits society as a whole. It increases innovation and empathy. 

College also gives students an opportunity to practice feeling comfortable in situations where there are people of different races, genders, sexualities, and abilities. Students can gain an understanding of how to act respectfully among different types of people, which is an important skill for the workplace. This will only become more vital as our world continues to become more globalized.

Ethical and Moral Development

Another reason why school is important is that it promotes ethical and moral development. Many schools require students to take an ethics course in their general education curriculum. However, schools can also encourage character development throughout their programs by using effective pedagogical strategies including:

• Class debates and discussions
• Historical case studies
• Group projects

Unity’s distance learning programs  include an ethical decision-making class in our core curriculum. 

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Communication Skills

Effective written and verbal communication skills are key for personal and professional success. Higher education programs usually include at least one communication course in their general education requirements. Often the focus in these classes is on writing skills, but students can also use college as an opportunity to hone their presentation and public speaking skills. Courses such as  Multimedia Communication for Environmental Professionals  provide many opportunities for this. 

Civic Engagement

According to a  Gallup survey , people with higher education degrees are:

• More likely to participate in civic activities such as voting and volunteering
• Less likely to commit crimes
• More likely to get involved in their local communities

All these individual acts add up to make a big difference in society. An educated electorate is less likely to be swayed by unethical politicians and, instead, make choices that benefit themselves and their community. Because they are more involved, they are also more likely to hold elected officials accountable.

Financial Stability

The right degree can significantly expand your career opportunities and improve your long-term earning potential. Not all degrees provide the same level of financial stability, so it’s important to research expected salary offers after graduation and job demand outlook predictions for your desired field. Consider the return on investment for a degree from an affordable private school such as  Unity Environmental University .

Environmental Awareness

We have already discussed why education is important for environmental stewardship. Education can also lead to better environmental practices in the business world. By building empathy through character education and ethics courses, institutions can train future business leaders to emphasize human rights and sustainability over profits. All types and sizes of businesses can incorporate sustainable practices, but awareness of the issues and solutions is the first step.

Lifelong Learning

The reasons why education is important discussed so far focus on institutional education. However, education can happen anywhere. Attending a university that values all kinds of learning will set students up with the foundation to become lifelong learners.  Research  demonstrates that lifelong learners tend to be healthier and more fulfilled throughout their lives. When societies emphasize the importance of education, they can boost their overall prosperity.

The Role Of Unity Environmental University In Society

Environmentally conscious education is extremely valuable and should be accessible to all.   Unity Environmental University  offers tuition prices that are comparable to public universities, and financial aid is available to those who qualify. Courses last five weeks so that students can focus on only one class at a time. This ensures all learners are set up for academic success. 

Unity believes in supporting students holistically to maximize the power of education. This includes mental health services,  experiential learning opportunities , and  job placement assistance . Students in our  hybrid programs  can take classes at several field stations throughout Maine and enjoy the beautiful nature surrounding the campus for outdoor recreation.

Sustainable Initiatives

Some highlights from Unity Environmental University’s many sustainable initiatives:

• All programs include at least one sustainability learning outcome
• All research courses are focused on sustainability research
• Reduced building energy use by 25% across campus
• 100% of food waste is recycled into energy 
• Campus features a  net-zero LEED Platinum-certified classroom/office building

While many schools value sustainability, Unity stands out because  everything  we do is about sustainability. We also recognize our responsibility to model how a sustainable business can operate in a manner that’s fiscally viable and socially responsible.

Make An Impact At Unity Environmental University

While the phrase ‘education is power’ may sound cliche, it is also resoundingly true. Higher education has the power to transform individuals and societies. Unity Environmental University understands its power to make a positive impact on the world. That’s why we were the first university to divest from fossil fuels. 

This year, we celebrated our  largest incoming class ever , showing that students want an education system that aligns with their values. In addition to our commitment to sustainability, we offer flexibility to students with start dates all year round for our  online degree programs .

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What Is Education For?

Read an excerpt from a new book by Sir Ken Robinson and Kate Robinson, which calls for redesigning education for the future.

What is education for? As it happens, people differ sharply on this question. It is what is known as an “essentially contested concept.” Like “democracy” and “justice,” “education” means different things to different people. Various factors can contribute to a person’s understanding of the purpose of education, including their background and circumstances. It is also inflected by how they view related issues such as ethnicity, gender, and social class. Still, not having an agreed-upon definition of education doesn’t mean we can’t discuss it or do anything about it.

We just need to be clear on terms. There are a few terms that are often confused or used interchangeably—“learning,” “education,” “training,” and “school”—but there are important differences between them. Learning is the process of acquiring new skills and understanding. Education is an organized system of learning. Training is a type of education that is focused on learning specific skills. A school is a community of learners: a group that comes together to learn with and from each other. It is vital that we differentiate these terms: children love to learn, they do it naturally; many have a hard time with education, and some have big problems with school.

There are many assumptions of compulsory education. One is that young people need to know, understand, and be able to do certain things that they most likely would not if they were left to their own devices. What these things are and how best to ensure students learn them are complicated and often controversial issues. Another assumption is that compulsory education is a preparation for what will come afterward, like getting a good job or going on to higher education.

So, what does it mean to be educated now? Well, I believe that education should expand our consciousness, capabilities, sensitivities, and cultural understanding. It should enlarge our worldview. As we all live in two worlds—the world within you that exists only because you do, and the world around you—the core purpose of education is to enable students to understand both worlds. In today’s climate, there is also a new and urgent challenge: to provide forms of education that engage young people with the global-economic issues of environmental well-being.

This core purpose of education can be broken down into four basic purposes.

Education should enable young people to engage with the world within them as well as the world around them. In Western cultures, there is a firm distinction between the two worlds, between thinking and feeling, objectivity and subjectivity. This distinction is misguided. There is a deep correlation between our experience of the world around us and how we feel. As we explored in the previous chapters, all individuals have unique strengths and weaknesses, outlooks and personalities. Students do not come in standard physical shapes, nor do their abilities and personalities. They all have their own aptitudes and dispositions and different ways of understanding things. Education is therefore deeply personal. It is about cultivating the minds and hearts of living people. Engaging them as individuals is at the heart of raising achievement.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights emphasizes that “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights,” and that “Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.” Many of the deepest problems in current systems of education result from losing sight of this basic principle.

Schools should enable students to understand their own cultures and to respect the diversity of others. There are various definitions of culture, but in this context the most appropriate is “the values and forms of behavior that characterize different social groups.” To put it more bluntly, it is “the way we do things around here.” Education is one of the ways that communities pass on their values from one generation to the next. For some, education is a way of preserving a culture against outside influences. For others, it is a way of promoting cultural tolerance. As the world becomes more crowded and connected, it is becoming more complex culturally. Living respectfully with diversity is not just an ethical choice, it is a practical imperative.

There should be three cultural priorities for schools: to help students understand their own cultures, to understand other cultures, and to promote a sense of cultural tolerance and coexistence. The lives of all communities can be hugely enriched by celebrating their own cultures and the practices and traditions of other cultures.

Education should enable students to become economically responsible and independent. This is one of the reasons governments take such a keen interest in education: they know that an educated workforce is essential to creating economic prosperity. Leaders of the Industrial Revolution knew that education was critical to creating the types of workforce they required, too. But the world of work has changed so profoundly since then, and continues to do so at an ever-quickening pace. We know that many of the jobs of previous decades are disappearing and being rapidly replaced by contemporary counterparts. It is almost impossible to predict the direction of advancing technologies, and where they will take us.

How can schools prepare students to navigate this ever-changing economic landscape? They must connect students with their unique talents and interests, dissolve the division between academic and vocational programs, and foster practical partnerships between schools and the world of work, so that young people can experience working environments as part of their education, not simply when it is time for them to enter the labor market.

Education should enable young people to become active and compassionate citizens. We live in densely woven social systems. The benefits we derive from them depend on our working together to sustain them. The empowerment of individuals has to be balanced by practicing the values and responsibilities of collective life, and of democracy in particular. Our freedoms in democratic societies are not automatic. They come from centuries of struggle against tyranny and autocracy and those who foment sectarianism, hatred, and fear. Those struggles are far from over. As John Dewey observed, “Democracy has to be born anew every generation, and education is its midwife.”

For a democratic society to function, it depends upon the majority of its people to be active within the democratic process. In many democracies, this is increasingly not the case. Schools should engage students in becoming active, and proactive, democratic participants. An academic civics course will scratch the surface, but to nurture a deeply rooted respect for democracy, it is essential to give young people real-life democratic experiences long before they come of age to vote.

Eight Core Competencies

The conventional curriculum is based on a collection of separate subjects. These are prioritized according to beliefs around the limited understanding of intelligence we discussed in the previous chapter, as well as what is deemed to be important later in life. The idea of “subjects” suggests that each subject, whether mathematics, science, art, or language, stands completely separate from all the other subjects. This is problematic. Mathematics, for example, is not defined only by propositional knowledge; it is a combination of types of knowledge, including concepts, processes, and methods as well as propositional knowledge. This is also true of science, art, and languages, and of all other subjects. It is therefore much more useful to focus on the concept of disciplines rather than subjects.

Disciplines are fluid; they constantly merge and collaborate. In focusing on disciplines rather than subjects we can also explore the concept of interdisciplinary learning. This is a much more holistic approach that mirrors real life more closely—it is rare that activities outside of school are as clearly segregated as conventional curriculums suggest. A journalist writing an article, for example, must be able to call upon skills of conversation, deductive reasoning, literacy, and social sciences. A surgeon must understand the academic concept of the patient’s condition, as well as the practical application of the appropriate procedure. At least, we would certainly hope this is the case should we find ourselves being wheeled into surgery.

The concept of disciplines brings us to a better starting point when planning the curriculum, which is to ask what students should know and be able to do as a result of their education. The four purposes above suggest eight core competencies that, if properly integrated into education, will equip students who leave school to engage in the economic, cultural, social, and personal challenges they will inevitably face in their lives. These competencies are curiosity, creativity, criticism, communication, collaboration, compassion, composure, and citizenship. Rather than be triggered by age, they should be interwoven from the beginning of a student’s educational journey and nurtured throughout.

From Imagine If: Creating a Future for Us All by Sir Ken Robinson, Ph.D and Kate Robinson, published by Penguin Books, an imprint of Penguin Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House, LLC. Copyright © 2022 by the Estate of Sir Kenneth Robinson and Kate Robinson.

The World Bank Group is the largest financier of education in the developing world, working in 90 countries and committed to helping them reach SDG4: access to inclusive and equitable quality education and lifelong learning opportunities for all by 2030.

Education is a human right, a powerful driver of development, and one of the strongest instruments for reducing poverty and improving health, gender equality, peace, and stability. It delivers large, consistent returns in terms of income, and is the most important factor to ensure equity and inclusion.

For individuals, education promotes employment, earnings, health, and poverty reduction. Globally, there is a  9% increase in hourly earnings for every extra year of schooling . For societies, it drives long-term economic growth, spurs innovation, strengthens institutions, and fosters social cohesion.  Education is further a powerful catalyst to climate action through widespread behavior change and skilling for green transitions.

Developing countries have made tremendous progress in getting children into the classroom and more children worldwide are now in school. But learning is not guaranteed, as the  2018 World Development Report  (WDR) stressed.

Making smart and effective investments in people’s education is critical for developing the human capital that will end extreme poverty. At the core of this strategy is the need to tackle the learning crisis, put an end to  Learning Poverty , and help youth acquire the advanced cognitive, socioemotional, technical and digital skills they need to succeed in today’s world. 

In low- and middle-income countries, the share of children living in  Learning Poverty  (that is, the proportion of 10-year-old children that are unable to read and understand a short age-appropriate text) increased from 57% before the pandemic to an estimated  70%  in 2022.

However, learning is in crisis. More than 70 million more people were pushed into poverty during the COVID pandemic, a billion children lost a year of school , and three years later the learning losses suffered have not been recouped .  If a child cannot read with comprehension by age 10, they are unlikely to become fluent readers. They will fail to thrive later in school and will be unable to power their careers and economies once they leave school.

The effects of the pandemic are expected to be long-lasting. Analysis has already revealed deep losses, with international reading scores declining from 2016 to 2021 by more than a year of schooling.  These losses may translate to a 0.68 percentage point in global GDP growth.  The staggering effects of school closures reach beyond learning. This generation of children could lose a combined total of  US$21 trillion in lifetime earnings  in present value or the equivalent of 17% of today’s global GDP – a sharp rise from the 2021 estimate of a US$17 trillion loss. 

Action is urgently needed now – business as usual will not suffice to heal the scars of the pandemic and will not accelerate progress enough to meet the ambitions of SDG 4. We are urging governments to implement ambitious and aggressive Learning Acceleration Programs to get children back to school, recover lost learning, and advance progress by building better, more equitable and resilient education systems.

Last Updated: Mar 25, 2024

The World Bank’s global education strategy is centered on ensuring learning happens – for everyone, everywhere. Our vision is to ensure that everyone can achieve her or his full potential with access to a quality education and lifelong learning. To reach this, we are helping countries build foundational skills like literacy, numeracy, and socioemotional skills – the building blocks for all other learning. From early childhood to tertiary education and beyond – we help children and youth acquire the skills they need to thrive in school, the labor market and throughout their lives.

Investing in the world’s most precious resource – people – is paramount to ending poverty on a livable planet.  Our experience across more than 100 countries bears out this robust connection between human capital, quality of life, and economic growth: when countries strategically invest in people and the systems designed to protect and build human capital at scale, they unlock the wealth of nations and the potential of everyone.

Building on this, the World Bank supports resilient, equitable, and inclusive education systems that ensure learning happens for everyone. We do this by generating and disseminating evidence, ensuring alignment with policymaking processes, and bridging the gap between research and practice.

The World Bank is the largest source of external financing for education in developing countries, with a portfolio of about $26 billion in 94 countries including IBRD, IDA and Recipient-Executed Trust Funds. IDA operations comprise 62% of the education portfolio.

The investment in FCV settings has increased dramatically and now accounts for 26% of our portfolio.

World Bank projects reach at least 425 million students -one-third of students in low- and middle-income countries.

The World Bank’s Approach to Education

Five interrelated pillars of a well-functioning education system underpin the World Bank’s education policy approach:

• Learners are prepared and motivated to learn;
• Teachers are prepared, skilled, and motivated to facilitate learning and skills acquisition;
• Learning resources (including education technology) are available, relevant, and used to improve teaching and learning;
• Schools are safe and inclusive; and
• Education Systems are well-managed, with good implementation capacity and adequate financing.

The Bank is already helping governments design and implement cost-effective programs and tools to build these pillars.

Our Principles:

• We pursue systemic reform supported by political commitment to learning for all children. 
• We focus on equity and inclusion through a progressive path toward achieving universal access to quality education, including children and young adults in fragile or conflict affected areas , those in marginalized and rural communities,  girls and women , displaced populations,  students with disabilities , and other vulnerable groups.
• We focus on results and use evidence to keep improving policy by using metrics to guide improvements.   
• We want to ensure financial commitment commensurate with what is needed to provide basic services to all. 
• We invest wisely in technology so that education systems embrace and learn to harness technology to support their learning objectives.   

Laying the groundwork for the future

Country challenges vary, but there is a menu of options to build forward better, more resilient, and equitable education systems.

Countries are facing an education crisis that requires a two-pronged approach: first, supporting actions to recover lost time through remedial and accelerated learning; and, second, building on these investments for a more equitable, resilient, and effective system.

Recovering from the learning crisis must be a political priority, backed with adequate financing and the resolve to implement needed reforms.  Domestic financing for education over the last two years has not kept pace with the need to recover and accelerate learning. Across low- and lower-middle-income countries, the  average share of education in government budgets fell during the pandemic , and in 2022 it remained below 2019 levels.

The best chance for a better future is to invest in education and make sure each dollar is put toward improving learning.  In a time of fiscal pressure, protecting spending that yields long-run gains – like spending on education – will maximize impact.  We still need more and better funding for education.  Closing the learning gap will require increasing the level, efficiency, and equity of education spending—spending smarter is an imperative.

• Education technology  can be a powerful tool to implement these actions by supporting teachers, children, principals, and parents; expanding accessible digital learning platforms, including radio/ TV / Online learning resources; and using data to identify and help at-risk children, personalize learning, and improve service delivery.

Looking ahead

We must seize this opportunity  to reimagine education in bold ways. Together, we can build forward better more equitable, effective, and resilient education systems for the world’s children and youth.

Accelerating Improvements

Supporting countries in establishing time-bound learning targets and a focused education investment plan, outlining actions and investments geared to achieve these goals.

Launched in 2020, the  Accelerator Program  works with a set of countries to channel investments in education and to learn from each other. The program coordinates efforts across partners to ensure that the countries in the program show improvements in foundational skills at scale over the next three to five years. These investment plans build on the collective work of multiple partners, and leverage the latest evidence on what works, and how best to plan for implementation.  Countries such as Brazil (the state of Ceará) and Kenya have achieved dramatic reductions in learning poverty over the past decade at scale, providing useful lessons, even as they seek to build on their successes and address remaining and new challenges.  

Universalizing Foundational Literacy

Readying children for the future by supporting acquisition of foundational skills – which are the gateway to other skills and subjects.

The  Literacy Policy Package (LPP)   consists of interventions focused specifically on promoting acquisition of reading proficiency in primary school. These include assuring political and technical commitment to making all children literate; ensuring effective literacy instruction by supporting teachers; providing quality, age-appropriate books; teaching children first in the language they speak and understand best; and fostering children’s oral language abilities and love of books and reading.

Advancing skills through TVET and Tertiary

Ensuring that individuals have access to quality education and training opportunities and supporting links to employment.

Tertiary education and skills systems are a driver of major development agendas, including human capital, climate change, youth and women’s empowerment, and jobs and economic transformation. A comprehensive skill set to succeed in the 21st century labor market consists of foundational and higher order skills, socio-emotional skills, specialized skills, and digital skills. Yet most countries continue to struggle in delivering on the promise of skills development. 

The World Bank is supporting countries through efforts that address key challenges including improving access and completion, adaptability, quality, relevance, and efficiency of skills development programs. Our approach is via multiple channels including projects, global goods, as well as the Tertiary Education and Skills Program . Our recent reports including Building Better Formal TVET Systems and STEERing Tertiary Education provide a way forward for how to improve these critical systems.

Addressing Climate Change

Mainstreaming climate education and investing in green skills, research and innovation, and green infrastructure to spur climate action and foster better preparedness and resilience to climate shocks.

Our approach recognizes that education is critical for achieving effective, sustained climate action. At the same time, climate change is adversely impacting education outcomes. Investments in education can play a huge role in building climate resilience and advancing climate mitigation and adaptation. Climate change education gives young people greater awareness of climate risks and more access to tools and solutions for addressing these risks and managing related shocks. Technical and vocational education and training can also accelerate a green economic transformation by fostering green skills and innovation. Greening education infrastructure can help mitigate the impact of heat, pollution, and extreme weather on learning, while helping address climate change. 

Examples of this work are projects in Nigeria (life skills training for adolescent girls), Vietnam (fostering relevant scientific research) , and Bangladesh (constructing and retrofitting schools to serve as cyclone shelters).

Strengthening Measurement Systems

Enabling countries to gather and evaluate information on learning and its drivers more efficiently and effectively.

The World Bank supports initiatives to help countries effectively build and strengthen their measurement systems to facilitate evidence-based decision-making. Examples of this work include:

(1) The  Global Education Policy Dashboard (GEPD) : This tool offers a strong basis for identifying priorities for investment and policy reforms that are suited to each country context by focusing on the three dimensions of practices, policies, and politics.

• Highlights gaps between what the evidence suggests is effective in promoting learning and what is happening in practice in each system; and
• Allows governments to track progress as they act to close the gaps.

The GEPD has been implemented in 13 education systems already – Peru, Rwanda, Jordan, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Mozambique, Islamabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sierra Leone, Niger, Gabon, Jordan and Chad – with more expected by the end of 2024.

(2)  Learning Assessment Platform (LeAP) : LeAP is a one-stop shop for knowledge, capacity-building tools, support for policy dialogue, and technical staff expertise to support student achievement measurement and national assessments for better learning.

Supporting Successful Teachers

Helping systems develop the right selection, incentives, and support to the professional development of teachers.

Currently, the World Bank Education Global Practice has over 160 active projects supporting over 18 million teachers worldwide, about a third of the teacher population in low- and middle-income countries. In 12 countries alone, these projects cover 16 million teachers, including all primary school teachers in Ethiopia and Turkey, and over 80% in Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Vietnam.

A World Bank-developed classroom observation tool, Teach, was designed to capture the quality of teaching in low- and middle-income countries. It is now 3.6 million students.

While Teach helps identify patterns in teacher performance, Coach leverages these insights to support teachers to improve their teaching practice through hands-on in-service teacher professional development (TPD).

Our recent report on Making Teacher Policy Work proposes a practical framework to uncover the black box of effective teacher policy and discusses the factors that enable their scalability and sustainability.

 Supporting Education Finance Systems

Strengthening country financing systems to mobilize resources for education and make better use of their investments in education.

Our approach is to bring together multi-sectoral expertise to engage with ministries of education and finance and other stakeholders to develop and implement effective and efficient public financial management systems; build capacity to monitor and evaluate education spending, identify financing bottlenecks, and develop interventions to strengthen financing systems; build the evidence base on global spending patterns and the magnitude and causes of spending inefficiencies; and develop diagnostic tools as public goods to support country efforts.

Working in Fragile, Conflict, and Violent (FCV) Contexts

The massive and growing global challenge of having so many children living in conflict and violent situations requires a response at the same scale and scope. Our education engagement in the Fragility, Conflict and Violence (FCV) context, which stands at US$5.35 billion, has grown rapidly in recent years, reflecting the ever-increasing importance of the FCV agenda in education. Indeed, these projects now account for more than 25% of the World Bank education portfolio.

Education is crucial to minimizing the effects of fragility and displacement on the welfare of youth and children in the short-term and preventing the emergence of violent conflict in the long-term. 

Support to Countries Throughout the Education Cycle

Our support to countries covers the entire learning cycle, to help shape resilient, equitable, and inclusive education systems that ensure learning happens for everyone. 

The ongoing  Supporting  Egypt  Education Reform project , 2018-2025, supports transformational reforms of the Egyptian education system, by improving teaching and learning conditions in public schools. The World Bank has invested $500 million in the project focused on increasing access to quality kindergarten, enhancing the capacity of teachers and education leaders, developing a reliable student assessment system, and introducing the use of modern technology for teaching and learning. Specifically, the share of Egyptian 10-year-old students, who could read and comprehend at the global minimum proficiency level, increased to 45 percent in 2021.

In  Nigeria , the $75 million  Edo  Basic Education Sector and Skills Transformation (EdoBESST)  project, running from 2020-2024, is focused on improving teaching and learning in basic education. Under the project, which covers 97 percent of schools in the state, there is a strong focus on incorporating digital technologies for teachers. They were equipped with handheld tablets with structured lesson plans for their classes. Their coaches use classroom observation tools to provide individualized feedback. Teacher absence has reduced drastically because of the initiative. Over 16,000 teachers were trained through the project, and the introduction of technology has also benefited students.

Through the $235 million  School Sector Development Program  in  Nepal  (2017-2022), the number of children staying in school until Grade 12 nearly tripled, and the number of out-of-school children fell by almost seven percent. During the pandemic, innovative approaches were needed to continue education. Mobile phone penetration is high in the country. More than four in five households in Nepal have mobile phones. The project supported an educational service that made it possible for children with phones to connect to local radio that broadcast learning programs.

From 2017-2023, the $50 million  Strengthening of State Universities  in  Chile  project has made strides to improve quality and equity at state universities. The project helped reduce dropout: the third-year dropout rate fell by almost 10 percent from 2018-2022, keeping more students in school.

The World Bank’s first  Program-for-Results financing in education  was through a $202 million project in  Tanzania , that ran from 2013-2021. The project linked funding to results and aimed to improve education quality. It helped build capacity, and enhanced effectiveness and efficiency in the education sector. Through the project, learning outcomes significantly improved alongside an unprecedented expansion of access to education for children in Tanzania. From 2013-2019, an additional 1.8 million students enrolled in primary schools. In 2019, the average reading speed for Grade 2 students rose to 22.3 words per minute, up from 17.3 in 2017. The project laid the foundation for the ongoing $500 million  BOOST project , which supports over 12 million children to enroll early, develop strong foundational skills, and complete a quality education.

The $40 million  Cambodia  Secondary Education Improvement project , which ran from 2017-2022, focused on strengthening school-based management, upgrading teacher qualifications, and building classrooms in Cambodia, to improve learning outcomes, and reduce student dropout at the secondary school level. The project has directly benefited almost 70,000 students in 100 target schools, and approximately 2,000 teachers and 600 school administrators received training.

The World Bank is co-financing the $152.80 million  Yemen  Restoring Education and Learning Emergency project , running from 2020-2024, which is implemented through UNICEF, WFP, and Save the Children. It is helping to maintain access to basic education for many students, improve learning conditions in schools, and is working to strengthen overall education sector capacity. In the time of crisis, the project is supporting teacher payments and teacher training, school meals, school infrastructure development, and the distribution of learning materials and school supplies. To date, almost 600,000 students have benefited from these interventions.

The $87 million  Providing an Education of Quality in  Haiti  project supported approximately 380 schools in the Southern region of Haiti from 2016-2023. Despite a highly challenging context of political instability and recurrent natural disasters, the project successfully supported access to education for students. The project provided textbooks, fresh meals, and teacher training support to 70,000 students, 3,000 teachers, and 300 school directors. It gave tuition waivers to 35,000 students in 118 non-public schools. The project also repaired 19 national schools damaged by the 2021 earthquake, which gave 5,500 students safe access to their schools again.

In 2013, just 5% of the poorest households in  Uzbekistan  had children enrolled in preschools. Thanks to the  Improving Pre-Primary and General Secondary Education Project , by July 2019, around 100,000 children will have benefitted from the half-day program in 2,420 rural kindergartens, comprising around 49% of all preschool educational institutions, or over 90% of rural kindergartens in the country.

In addition to working closely with governments in our client countries, the World Bank also works at the global, regional, and local levels with a range of technical partners, including foundations, non-profit organizations, bilaterals, and other multilateral organizations. Some examples of our most recent global partnerships include:

UNICEF, UNESCO, FCDO, USAID, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation:  Coalition for Foundational Learning

The World Bank is working closely with UNICEF, UNESCO, FCDO, USAID, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation as the  Coalition for Foundational Learning  to advocate and provide technical support to ensure foundational learning.  The World Bank works with these partners to promote and endorse the  Commitment to Action on Foundational Learning , a global network of countries committed to halving the global share of children unable to read and understand a simple text by age 10 by 2030.

Australian Aid, Bernard van Leer Foundation, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Canada, Echida Giving, FCDO, German Cooperation, William & Flora Hewlett Foundation, Conrad Hilton Foundation, LEGO Foundation, Porticus, USAID: Early Learning Partnership

The Early Learning Partnership (ELP) is a multi-donor trust fund, housed at the World Bank.  ELP leverages World Bank strengths—a global presence, access to policymakers and strong technical analysis—to improve early learning opportunities and outcomes for young children around the world.

We help World Bank teams and countries get the information they need to make the case to invest in Early Childhood Development (ECD), design effective policies and deliver impactful programs. At the country level, ELP grants provide teams with resources for early seed investments that can generate large financial commitments through World Bank finance and government resources. At the global level, ELP research and special initiatives work to fill knowledge gaps, build capacity and generate public goods.

UNESCO, UNICEF:  Learning Data Compact

UNESCO, UNICEF, and the World Bank have joined forces to close the learning data gaps that still exist and that preclude many countries from monitoring the quality of their education systems and assessing if their students are learning. The three organizations have agreed to a  Learning Data Compact , a commitment to ensure that all countries, especially low-income countries, have at least one quality measure of learning by 2025, supporting coordinated efforts to strengthen national assessment systems.

UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS):   Learning Poverty Indicator

Aimed at measuring and urging attention to foundational literacy as a prerequisite to achieve SDG4, this partnership was launched in 2019 to help countries strengthen their learning assessment systems, better monitor what students are learning in internationally comparable ways and improve the breadth and quality of global data on education.

FCDO, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation:  EdTech Hub

Supported by the UK government’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), in partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the EdTech Hub is aimed at improving the quality of ed-tech investments. The Hub launched a rapid response Helpdesk service to provide just-in-time advisory support to 70 low- and middle-income countries planning education technology and remote learning initiatives.

MasterCard Foundation

Our Tertiary Education and Skills  global program, launched with support from the Mastercard Foundation, aims to prepare youth and adults for the future of work and society by improving access to relevant, quality, equitable reskilling and post-secondary education opportunities.  It is designed to reframe, reform, and rebuild tertiary education and skills systems for the digital and green transformation.

The “how to” of inclusive education policy design

Including refugees in national education systems

How generative AI can enrich teaching and learning

Areas of focus.

Digital Technologies

Early Childhood Development

Education Data & Measurement

Education Finance

Education in Fragile, Conflict & Violence Contexts

Girls’ Education

Higher Education

Inclusive Education

Initiatives

• Show More +
• Tertiary Education and Skills Program
• Service Delivery Indicators
• Evoke: Transforming education to empower youth
• Global Education Policy Dashboard
• Global Education Evidence Advisory Panel
• Show Less -

Collapse and Recovery: How the COVID-19 Pandemic Eroded Human Capital and What to Do About It

BROCHURES & FACT SHEETS

Publication: Realizing Education's Promise: A World Bank Retrospective – August 2023

Education and Climate Change flyer - November 2022

Learning Losses Brochure - October 2022

World Bank Group Education Fact Sheet - September 2022

STAY CONNECTED

Human Development Topics

Around the bank group.

Find out what the Bank Group's branches are doing in education

Global Education Newsletter - February 2024

What's happening in the World Bank Education Global Practice? Read to learn more.

Human Capital Project

The Human Capital Project is a global effort to accelerate more and better investments in people for greater equity and economic growth.

Impact Evaluations

Research that measures the impact of education policies to improve education in low and middle income countries.

Investing in People for a Livable Planet

Global thought leaders came together to champion investments in people to eradicate poverty on a livable planet.

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Why is Education Important and What Impact Has It Had on Your Life?

At Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU), we believe in the power of education to transform lives – and we witness the transformative journeys our students embark on while they earn their degrees and beyond. The stories are personal but each learner begins with a simple premise: Education is important.

We asked SNHU leaders and staff to share their thoughts on education and how it has impacted their lives.

Dr. Paul LeBlanc, President, Southern New Hampshire University

We know that people with college degrees vote more, divorce less, smoke less and the list goes on . Take the two together - personal development  and social mobility - and education is an incredible force for good. In many ways, it is critical to the American narrative of self-improvement, merit and mobility.

It (education) has changed everything. It put me on a trajectory to an incredibly rewarding career. It has allowed a life for my daughters that their grandparents could scarcely imagine. It has allowed me to connect with the distant past through literature and history and art and to imagine a better future through philosophy, political science, and sociology.

Really, it feels like the question might be "Is there any aspect of your life education hasn't touched?" and then the answer could be simple. It would be "no."

Amelia Manning, Chief Operating Officer

Four years later, after minoring in gender studies and reading Toni Morrison’s “The Bluest Eye,” I had what some would call a light-bulb moment. The actual message I had been given, but wasn’t at the time ready to hear, was about power and privilege. It was not a personal attack, as I’d initially interpreted it to be, but instead about expanding my awareness and understanding of how power works and the conscious and unconscious ways it influences each of us. It wasn’t until I read “The Bluest Eye,” and saw the world through the eyes of a child who believed she’d be happy if only she had blue eyes, that I fully understood.

Education, and learning, at its best pushes the boundaries of what we believe to be true. It opens doors and windows on our world that sheds light on our own beliefs and, in turn, on our understanding of the world and how it works and how we can make it a better place. Education is, and should be, transformative, not only for an individual, but for society.

As I stated earlier, I believe that education is transformative. It can change the trajectory of your life just as it can help to shine the light for you on opportunities that you would never have considered or believed were possible. I have seen impact not only for me, but for the thousands of students I’ve had the honor of working with here at SNHU.

Dr. Gregory Fowler, former President, Global Campus

Humans are constantly forced to make choices (some don’t recognize that even choosing not to choose is a choice), all of which have repercussions. Education positions us to make the most informed choices and therefore live with the consequences, even when things don’t turn out as we expect, because even then, the learned person understands that they are being educated.

Education has led me on a journey around the world—to Europe, Australia, Central America, as well as almost every state in the U.S. I continue to be awed by the various permutations of our existence. They are so different and yet at their core, they all operate with the same basic principles that reinforce that no matter how different we are, we all continue to be so very human, driven not only by basic human needs but by our passions, our fears and our hopes.

Autumn Earnshaw Fillion, Military Academic Advising Team Lead

Education gives us a wider range of experience, makes us think about things and see things in a way we might not have before. Education can build confidence and trust within us. Beyond the "book" knowledge an education provides, it displays commitment and determination.

I know it is cliché to say, but education has opened doors for me professionally and personally. I love my job and the career that my master's degree  led me to. I have met awesome people along the way that have shaped my life. Education has become my profession so all I have and am has been influenced by my education.

Amy Stevens, Vice President, Academic Resources & Technology, Executive Director of CBE Programs

I can’t think of anything in my life that hasn’t been touched by education. I am on my fourth career, three of which didn’t exist when I graduated college. I can recreate myself because I have a strong foundation in critical thinking skills, I can write and do some basic math, I can learn what I don’t know and gain wisdom from my mistakes.

Education continues to have an impact on my life, and hopefully I can continue to add value to the education SNHU students earn through my work in and out of the classroom.

Dr. Jeffrey Czarnec, Associate Dean, Criminal Justice and Social Sciences

Education has allowed for ME to have a positive impact on scores of others. An education is to be shared, it must contribute to the well-being of others and must provoke change where none had previously occurred.

Cheryl Frederick, Senior Associate Dean, STEM

I grew up in a small town and was raised by a single mother. I watched my mother's job opportunities improve after she finished her college degree. This instilled how important education is and I made a decision at a young age that I would go to college. I always loved STEM-related classes and the latest innovations in technology. Education has allowed me to participate in the forefront of the application of innovative information technology and to connect with very interesting individuals. I have had the privilege of working for some amazing companies, on interesting projects, and been able to see different areas of the country due to work travel.

Kristi Durette, Associate Vice President | Institutional Advancement

I believe at my core I have a curiosity that encourages me to always be a learner; that every interaction is an opportunity to educate and be educated. And in those exchanges, the opportunity to build a more informed and engaged community. Teachers who created opportunities for students like me to engage in learning, decision-making about community values and shared responsibility for building the community come in the form of leaders, peers, students, neighbors and strangers we encounter as life unfolds. I feel like I learn something about myself and my world every day and that is the greatest gift.

Matthew Belanger, Associate Vice President of Academic Strategy and Operations

My education has had a profound impact on my life. It has provided me with the opportunity to positively impact the lives of others in various, countless ways. Without my education I would not be where I am today, in a position to help other students (many of whom are the first in their family like I was) be successful in their own pursuit of a degree.

The process of earning my education also had a significant impact. I was able to work with students of all ages to understand how students learn best and what that learning (and education) really means to them. My own education has taught me about diversity, strength, hard work, motivation and fulfillment.

Now as a father, what I have learned about education will be passed down to my children and my children’s children. They will grow up knowing how important their education is and how much I’ll be there to support them.

Tim Lehmann, Vice President of Student Financial Services

It has had an incredible impact on my life. It continues to impact my attitudes and altitude. I continue to believe that there is an "education effect" that correlates to better social and economic outcomes based on how much education a person has. I know in my life this is true.

Dr. Gwen Britton, Associate Vice President, STEM Professions

Knowledge also contributes to understanding of how different cultures and geographies live out their lives – differences in perspective, beliefs, experiences and how they influence the world as a whole; again, more knowledge, more connections between what we know and how we know it.

I feel like I have lived a pretty charmed life. I’ve lived in many different places across the United States, from east to west and in the middle too. I also lived in Europe and Guam. I was exposed to different cultures and educational perspectives from the first day of my education. Learning from different people in different places made me want to try to teach others as well. The biggest impact it has had on my life is my desire to pay it forward and help others discover their own potential through learning.

Tiffany Fifer, Director of Online Engagement

My father has a high school GED and this limited his career choices in life. While he is one of the hardest workers I know, furthering his education would have opened so many more doors for him. It was very important to him that his children have the chance to go to college.

Through Alternative Break trips , I have seen college students be transformed by relief work in an impacted community. These students put their own luxuries aside, learned about new cultures and rolled up their sleeves to make the world a little better. Many have gone on to work in service organizations and share their talents with the world. Education makes this type of growth possible.

Education has taken me around the world. I have learned new languages, lived with students from different countries, helped students study abroad and traveled with students through Italy and the Dominican Republic.

Education has also taught me how to solve problems. The position I now hold in online student engagement didn’t exist when I was in college and there aren’t many colleagues in the field doing this work yet. My education has given me the confidence to take risks, analyze opportunities and determine how we can lead in this area.

Finally, education has given me the opportunity to pay it forward. So many wonderful mentors had such an impact on me growing up and I feel it is my duty (and complete pleasure) to support our students through their own journey of co-curricular involvement and education.

Pamme Boutselis ‘15, ‘17G is a staff writer and senior content director in higher education. Follow her on Twitter @pammeb or connect on LinkedIn .

Explore more content like this article

Is a Bachelor's Degree Worth It?

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About southern new hampshire university.

SNHU is a nonprofit, accredited university with a mission to make high-quality education more accessible and affordable for everyone.

Founded in 1932, and online since 1995, we’ve helped countless students reach their goals with flexible, career-focused programs . Our 300-acre campus in Manchester, NH is home to over 3,000 students, and we serve over 135,000 students online. Visit our about SNHU  page to learn more about our mission, accreditations, leadership team, national recognitions and awards.

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Education: Watch This Space

Why education is the most important revolution of our time.

Anya Kamenetz

Everything I needed to know about learning, I learned in preschool? John W. Poole/NPR hide caption

Everything I needed to know about learning, I learned in preschool?

Learning is something people, like other animals, do whenever our eyes are open. Education, though, is uniquely human, and right now it's at an unusual point of flux.

By some accounts, education is a $7 trillion global industry ripe for disruption. Others see it as almost a sacred pursuit — a means of nurturing developing minds while preserving tradition. Around the world, education means equal rights and opportunity. People risk their lives for it every day.

No matter what you think you know about education, what's clear right now is that the old blueprints are out the window. The economy isn't creating jobs the way it once did. Technology has forever altered how we communicate and has challenged the meaning of knowledge itself. The cost of college has risen more than any other good or service in the U.S. economy since 1978. There's increasing evidence that qualities like creativity, communication, collaboration and persistence matter most, yet our school system remains pegged to standardized tests that just take in reading and math.

Education has to become something more than regurgitating the past. But what?

That's what we'll be exploring at NPR Ed. Our mission: cover learning and education, online and on the air, from preschool through the workplace and beyond.

The stakes are high, and so are our ambitions. "If you look at the ramifications of good education coverage, it has to be one of the most important things that journalism takes on," says Claudio Sanchez, veteran NPR education reporter and a senior member of our team . "I think our measure of success should be whether we take the time to really put together pieces that speak to the average American, not the ivory tower."

So NPR Ed is not just for wonks. (Although, if you are a wonk, welcome! We're sure you'll find plenty to love.) We want to tell stories that inform curious people of all stripes about an issue of huge importance.

What Can You Expect?

We're inspired by teachers like Nikki Jones, who leads a preschool class in Tulsa, Okla . "I let the kids guide the curriculum," she told us last month. "If they're not engaged, I spend the day managing behavior, versus letting them discover and explore and construct their own knowledge of something."

If we're doing our job, reading this blog should take you back to being 4 years old again, in the best way possible. We want to engage you, spark your curiosity and let you guide the way. We're not afraid to have fun, be creative or get our hands dirty , if it means you come away feeling like you've discovered something.

We'll follow issues of inequality and access (like our series on paying for college ), as well as the transformative promise — and threat — of educational technology . We'll look at early education , and the lives of special needs students. We'll do the math on the real value of a prestigious college degree. And fill in the bubbles of confusion on standardized testing . We'll track the unfolding saga of the Common Core State Standards. We'll have some fun exploring play and social and emotional learning. And — this week — we'll bring you all the wit and wisdom of graduation rituals.

Who Are We?

There's a "director of vertical initiatives and mischief," two editors, two radio reporters, a producer, two bloggers and a videojournalist, and we also work with NPR's Visuals team . We're millennials, Gen-Xers and boomers; there are two former classroom teachers, a foreign correspondent, a DJ, a screenwriter, a social media maven and a book author. Together, we're out to capture learning in its natural habitat, from soccer fields to science labs, boardrooms to bedrooms.

To do all this, we'll need your help. Follow us on Twitter . Reply in the comments. Let us know how we're doing. We want to include your voices in our stories — the voices of engaged citizens, teachers, parents, students and youth. We'll be looking for guests to write on the blog as well.

Connect with the NPR Ed team ( @npr_ED on Twitter ):

• Cory Turner ( @NPRCoryTurner )
• Claudio Sanchez
• Eric Westervelt ( @EricNPR )
• Juana Summers ( @jmsummers )
• Anya Kamenetz ( @anya1anya)
• Sami Yenigun ( @Sami_Yenigun )
• Steve Drummond ( @SDrummondNPR )

And tell us: What do you think are the biggest opportunities and challenges in education today?

The "Why" of Education

Examining our expectations around sending children to school..

Posted August 24, 2021 | Reviewed by Ekua Hagan

• Why Education Is Important
• Find a Child Therapist
• Martin Luther King, Jr. identified "the goal of true education" to be "intelligence plus character."
• Schools that do well in terms of test scores don’t always excel at developing character in their students.
• It's important to not simplify education and to get young people's perspective on its purpose.

By Angela Duckworth, Ph.D.

What do we hope for when we send children to school?

This is the question Martin Luther King, Jr. posed in an essay entitled “The Purpose of Education ,” published in the Morehouse student newspaper around the time of his 18th birthday.

King’s answer: “ Intelligence plus character—that is the goal of true education.”

But what, then, is character?

This is the question child psychologist Diana Baumrind addressed, toward the end of an illustrious career , in an essay entitled “Reflections on Character and Competence.”

Character, Baumrind writes, “provides the structure of internal law that governs inner thoughts and volitions subject to the agent’s control under the jurisdiction of conscience .”

Baumrind then offers examples of character strengths recognized by diverse traditions across history and different cultures. Character is personal integrity, honesty, and social responsibility. But character is also persistence in the face of obstacles, self-discipline, and work ethic. The list of what constitutes admirable character goes on and on. In short, character is not one thing, but many.

In King’s prescient words: “The function of education, therefore, is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. But education that stops with efficiency may prove the greatest menace to society. The most dangerous criminal may be the man gifted with reason, but with no morals.” As Baumrind put it: “It takes virtuous character to will the good, and competence to do good well.”

New research by economist Kirabo Jackson and colleagues shows that some schools are especially good at raising standardized achievement test scores. Some excel at improving interpersonal skills, like helping other people. Some improve intrapersonal skills, like setting aside time to study.

Jackson also found that the schools that do a wonderful job on the test-score front don’t always excel at developing aspects of character—and vice versa. But many schools do both.

Don’t oversimplify education. A great classroom is one in which young people thrive in every sense of the word. Schools play an essential role in helping young people develop socially, emotionally, physically, and academically.

Do ask the young people in your life what they think about the purpose of education. Share a story, perhaps, of a lesson you learned as a young person that you can’t put on your resume but hope will be remembered in your eulogy . As with so many endeavors in life, "Why?" is a very good place to start.

Angela Duckworth is the Rosa Lee and Egbert Chang Professor at the University of Pennsylvania and the author of Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance . She is also the co-host of the podcast No Stupid Questions .

Character Lab is a nonprofit whose mission is to advance scientific insights that help kids thrive.

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No one teaches us how to dream. We just do. But dreams can only carry the 61 million children not in school, mostly girls, so far. Educating children no matter where they are is one of the biggest steps we can take toward ending extreme poverty. Education is key to building a society that can overcome poverty in a sustainable manner. Investing in human capital brings about powerful social change and creates opportunities for those in developing countries to realise their full potential and to become leaders of the generation to come.

In many developing countries, education is unaffordable for families and there is a shortage of classrooms. The poorest countries need almost 4 million new classrooms by 2015, largely in rural and marginalized areas, to accommodate those who are not in school. More classrooms will alleviate overcrowding, cut class sizes and reduce the long travel distances. Children in rural areas sometimes walk two to three hours to attend school.

Other barriers to education include:

Humanitarian emergencies, especially conflict. The need to fulfill the right to education is greatest in humanitarian crises. More than 40 per cent of out-of school children live in conflict-affected poor countries, and millions are forced out of school by natural disasters each year. In emergency situations, education can save and sustain lives. A safe school environment can give children a sense of normalcy during a crisis. Schools can also aid in post-conflict reconstruction. Yet only 2 per cent of all humanitarian aid goes into education. Schools should be a higher priority during humanitarian crises, and national education plans should include contingencies for emergencies.

Gender discrimination. Girls face a unique set of barriers to education, such as child marriage, early pregnancy, and expectations related to domestic labour, not to mention unsafe travel and a lack of sanitary facilities. Many countries under-value girls’ education, with the result that fewer girls enroll and those who do are more likely to drop out. Some 34 million adolescent girls are out of school around the world, and women make up nearly two thirds (almost 500 million) of the world’s illiterate adults. The gender gap has significantly narrowed in primary education but there has been limited progress at the secondary level.

Child labor. Poverty and vulnerability are pushing far too many young children out of school and into the world of work. Some children remain in school, but are disadvantaged doubling up studies with work. For households living in poverty, children may be pulled out of school and into work in the face of external shocks such as natural disasters, rising costs, or a parent’s sickness or unemployment. By leaving school to enter the labor market prematurely, children miss a chance to lift themselves, their families, and their communities out of a cycle of poverty. Sometimes children are exposed to the worst forms of labor that is damaging to their physical, mental and emotional well-being.

Ironically, the same barriers that impede access to education could themselves be eradicated by making education more available.

We need education to fight armed conflict

We need education to fight gender discrimination

We need education to end child labor. 

CREDITS DIRECTED BYJonathan Olinger, Michael Trainer SERIES CREATIVE DIRECTOR Michael Trainer WRITERS Lindsay Branham, Jonathan Olinger NARRATED BY America Ferrera PRODUCED BY DTJ (www.dtj.org) PRODUCER Lindsay Branham EXECUTIVE PRODUCER Michael Trainer CINEMATOGRAPHY Austin Mann ORIGINAL SCORE Ryan O'Neal ASSOCIATE PRODUCER Adam Butterfield PRODUCTION ASSISTANT Liesbeth Roolvink LEAD EDITOR Jonathan Olinger EDITORS Lindsay Branham VISUAL EFFECTS Dan DiFelice MOTION GRAPHICS Dan Johnson COLOR Matt Fezz SOUND DESIGN Ben Lukas Boysen SOUND MIX Charles de Montebello, CDM Studios, NYC VOICE OVER RECORDING CDM Studios, NYC // VERY SPECIAL THANKS TO: Jane Rosenthal, Nancy Lefkowitz, Srei, her family and the Takeo Community in Cambodia and Global Partnership for Education

Defeat Poverty

Introduction to the importance of primary education

Oct. 18, 2012

Essay on Importance of Education for Students

500 words essay on importance of education.

To say Education is important is an understatement. Education is a weapon to improve one’s life. It is probably the most important tool to change one’s life. Education for a child begins at home. It is a lifelong process that ends with death. Education certainly determines the quality of an individual’s life. Education improves one’s knowledge, skills and develops the personality and attitude. Most noteworthy, Education affects the chances of employment for people. A highly educated individual is probably very likely to get a good job. In this essay on importance of education, we will tell you about the value of education in life and society.

Importance of Education in Life

First of all, Education teaches the ability to read and write. Reading and writing is the first step in Education. Most information is done by writing. Hence, the lack of writing skill means missing out on a lot of information. Consequently, Education makes people literate.

Above all, Education is extremely important for employment. It certainly is a great opportunity to make a decent living. This is due to the skills of a high paying job that Education provides. Uneducated people are probably at a huge disadvantage when it comes to jobs. It seems like many poor people improve their lives with the help of Education.

Better Communication is yet another role in Education. Education improves and refines the speech of a person. Furthermore, individuals also improve other means of communication with Education.

Education makes an individual a better user of technology. Education certainly provides the technical skills necessary for using technology . Hence, without Education, it would probably be difficult to handle modern machines.

People become more mature with the help of Education. Sophistication enters the life of educated people. Above all, Education teaches the value of discipline to individuals. Educated people also realize the value of time much more. To educated people, time is equal to money.

Finally, Educations enables individuals to express their views efficiently. Educated individuals can explain their opinions in a clear manner. Hence, educated people are quite likely to convince people to their point of view.

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Importance of Education in Society

First of all, Education helps in spreading knowledge in society. This is perhaps the most noteworthy aspect of Education. There is a quick propagation of knowledge in an educated society. Furthermore, there is a transfer of knowledge from generation to another by Education.

Education helps in the development and innovation of technology. Most noteworthy, the more the education, the more technology will spread. Important developments in war equipment, medicine , computers, take place due to Education.

Education is a ray of light in the darkness. It certainly is a hope for a good life. Education is a basic right of every Human on this Planet. To deny this right is evil. Uneducated youth is the worst thing for Humanity. Above all, the governments of all countries must ensure to spread Education.

FAQs on Essay on Importance of Education

Q.1 How Education helps in Employment?

A.1 Education helps in Employment by providing necessary skills. These skills are important for doing a high paying job.

Q.2 Mention one way in Education helps a society?

A.2 Education helps society by spreading knowledge. This certainly is one excellent contribution to Education.

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The right to education

Education is a basic human right that works to raise men and women out of poverty, level inequalities and ensure sustainable development. But worldwide 244 million children and youth are still out of school for social, economic and cultural reasons. Education is one of the most powerful tools in lifting excluded children and adults out of poverty and is a stepping stone to other fundamental human rights. It is the most sustainable investment. The right to quality education is already firmly rooted in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and international legal instruments, the majority of which are the result of the work of UNESCO and the United Nations.    

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Persuasive Essay: Why is Education Important in Our Society?

Introduction.

Education is more than just learning from books, and it is a shame that a lot of schools do not see that it is more than just a curriculum and school score. A good education can teach a child how to learn so that the child may take up independent learning as an adult. Education may also teach a child how to reason so that a child does not grow up to be ignorant.

I will show you the two best reasons why education is important in our society.

Persuasive point 1

The biggest selling point for education in our society is the fact that it helps people learn “how” to learn. It is not about the knowledge they accumulate, it is the way a child is taught how to “learn” things. A child may come away from school not knowing a lot of the course, but if that child has been taught how to learn, then that child may become an adult that learns everything he or she needs in life. Otherwise, that child may grow up to be a person that cannot see the obvious because he or she cannot reason and consciously learn new things.

Persuasive point 2

Education teaches people how to reason, and if they are taught how to reason well, then they help subdue their own thoughts of ignorance. For example, there are lots of posts and websites on the Internet about childhood vaccinations and how dangerous they are. Ignorant people than never learned how to reason will look at them, believe them and support them. If a person is taught how to reason then he or she will know how to recognize empirical evidence.

That person would look at all the people in the US that have had childhood injections (most of them) and then look at all the people with autism. They would reason that if childhood vaccinations caused autism then most of the people in the US would have autism. If a person is taught how to reason then that person may see how people that smoke seem more likely to develop emphysema than people that do not smoke. They would then reason there is a link between smoking and emphysema. This sort of reasoning can be taught in schools, and if children are not taught it then they walk around risking their children’s lives by not vaccinating them, and walk around smoking because their daddy smoked for years and it never hurt him.

If education is not seen as important, then one day it will just be all about school scores and hitting the factors of a curriculum. There will be a day when children start to hate learning because school put them off it for life (this already happens in some cases). Plus, without education teaching people how to reason things out and teaching them how to separate what is fact from what is faulty evidence, then our society will become more and more ignorant until a smarter country simply marches over and takes our country from under out ignorant noses.

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• August 22, 2022
• Education Advice , Uncategorized

Why Education Is Important in Our Life

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We all hear the word “education” in our daily life. Our education begins at home when we are taught how to act, what to eat, what to wear, and many other life skills. Therefore, we receive our early education from our parents and then attend elementary school , where we are instructed in various subjects, manners, and what is and is not appropriate behavior.

At this point, you may be asking yourself why education is important. Well, we receive education in a variety of ways throughout our entire lives, and an uneducated society does not have a future in this world. So let’s get started immediately. The University of the Potomac has compiled a list of 16 reasons why education is crucial to assist you with its significance.

What Is Education?

So what exactly is education? Education is a complex concept with a wide range of definitions. Still, to put it simply, education is a powerful tool that educates people about their obligations to their families, friends, and most importantly, society.

There are three types of education : formal, informal, and non-formal.  Formal education usually occurs in classrooms where students learn academic or trade skills.  Informal education occurs daily in our homes by our parents teaching us manners, how to prepare a meal, ride a bike, and so on.  Non-formal education takes place outside the classroom, allowing anyone to obtain fundamental knowledge and practical skills.

Education improves people’s lives by motivating them to fight against specific issues, including violence, injustice, corruption, and much more. Another way to illustrate the value of education is to point out the several governments that make significant financial investments in it. 

They do this so that their country can advance and so that they can have a promising future since a well-educated person is a precious resource for the state.

16 Reasons Why Education Is Important

The impact of education on every corner of the world is unremarkable. Growth and development are what we want and what we can achieve with education by our side. Further, educated individuals will follow their families’ steps and educate their children on different aspects of life. Below, we have mentioned 16 reasons why education is essential. Let’s start with problem-solving skills.

Develops problem-solving skills

The most significant benefit of education is the improvement of our problem-solving abilities. We encounter various issues every day, and we typically approach their solution logically. Compared to someone without prior education, an educated individual will handle the circumstance easily. Since problem-solving abilities are necessary for employment, it’s a win-win situation for you to have your desired career and further add more skills.

Promotes gender equality

Gender equality is still a topic of discussion today. Women didn’t use to be able to attend a school or receive an education. Unfortunately, we can’t say this is no longer an issue because a few isolated instances indicate it still occurs. Education encourages gender equality; thus, a society that values education would also value gender equality. People with education, especially educated women, will fight to advance gender equality for the women who lack a voice through education.

Provides self-dependency

Self-dependency is taught by our parents first. That’s one of the most critical skills that everyone should possess. Education provides just that, whether that occurs in our homes, schools, or even streets. You have a voice; thus, you need to be able to act and talk for yourself and, most importantly, be independent.

Provides stability and financial security

Stability in our lives is a result of education. You have to work for your job goals; education is the best way to achieve that. By doing so, you will have stability and won’t be concerned that you won’t have a job. On the other hand, education also has the advantage of ensuring financial security. Higher qualified people acquire the dream career they’ve wanted since they were young. So, with education, your future is secured.

Contributes to economic growth

Governments invest a lot of money in education so that their people can get an education and contribute to developing their nation’s economy. A nation’s GDP is based on the number of employed citizens, and since most jobs require a bachelor’s or master’s degree , education helps the economy thrive. You benefit your society and your country by educating yourself, your kids, and others as every state aspires to an educated society in the future.

It’s a way to give back to the community

Educated individuals always find ways to give back to the community, whether by investing in colleges so other students can educate themselves or by investing in the education system. Someone gave back to the community so you can be educated, and it’s your turn to do the same.

Creates more employment opportunities

Nowadays, obtaining a job is very hard. Education in your resume opens a door full of opportunities for you. Unfortunately, the lower your education, the lower the number of employment opportunities. In addition, your salary might not be as high as expected if you have a lesser education level. However, you will get that job position you have dreamed of if you have strong credentials and a solid educational foundation.

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Helps to get to know yourself

You come to know yourself better when you have education on your side. You learn more about your qualifications, your shortcomings, and what you want out of life. Your critical thinking and creativity continue to grow, which aids in your understanding of who you are as a person and what kind of person you want to be in the future.

Teaches values

Values as a word can be used in different scenarios, whether valuing your family, nation, friends, loved ones, and most importantly, yourself. Education can help you accomplish that by teaching you how to become more responsible and sensible, which leads to developing a solid relationship with those around you.

Develops critical thinking

Education helps in different ways, especially in developing critical thinking. By developing critical thinking, you will see that there is more than what meets the eye. You learn how to express your thoughts as well as ideas better. You tend to analyze the situation before saying or acting as a response as a result of education in your life.

Breaks barriers

By educating yourself, you dismantle the obstacles to education and ensure that other students have access to the chance to use education to better their lives and the community’s life. Educate yourself so that you can educate others and break the glaciers by changing the future of education for the better.

Develops life skills

Life skills are needed everywhere you go in life (trips, job interviews, etc.) and are also learned in all sets of circumstances. Education is a factor in developing life skills as everything you learn in school, on the job, or in the community helps you get through life and increases your chances of success.

Helps fulfill your dreams

Education can help you achieve your goals. By getting a job and working, you can support yourself and live the life you’ve always wanted. You dedicate four years of your life to earning a degree, and the realization of your dreams results from your hard work, persistence, and ambition. And education is where it all begins.

Allows for creativity

Education supports innovative people with many good ideas, and it allows room for creativity. Creativity can look different depending on the field you focus on, whether business, fashion, architecture, or other.

Builds confidence

Through every step of the way, education helps you build confidence. You can discuss a topic without fear of what others may think or say. You will speak of what you consider suitable and not be afraid of judgment. So, education is the way to go to build your confidence.

Offers freedom

We’ve all thought of freedom at least once in our lives. You might ask, though, how education can promote independence. The key to freedom is education, which gives us all the required knowledge. If you are educated, you will accomplish everything with much greater confidence and carry a set of creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills with you wherever you go.

Whenever we hear the word education, we instantly think of hope. It offers you and your future family a significantly better future. We should encourage people to further their education to benefit themselves, their families, and their community. Now that you’ve learned 16 reasons why education is important, seize the opportunity !

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Why is Education Important? 11 Reasons it Matters in Your Life

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In our free country, where we pride ourselves on being able to make our own choices, why is it  required by law  that children attend school between the ages of six and 16?

There are a few arguments out there as to why receiving an education  shouldn’t  be mandated by law:

Children could simply be taught their family’s trade from a young age and earn a living wage through that knowledge, right? Is education is a form of political control? By having the freedom of speech and thought, children should also have the fundamental right to control what information enters their minds. Schooling is really just a tool for assimilation, so everyone is the same.

We all know that the world is facing challenges unique to our times. The world continues to become increasingly complex, and having an education helps ensure that people understand that they need to maneuver through this complexity using problem-solving and collaboration. 

Back in the 1500s, these laws began to be put into place to make sure that everyone could read the Bible, among other religious reasons around the world. In 1852, compulsory education laws began to be enacted in the United States, and they still stand strong today.

Although the reasons for getting an education have evolved, people have always known that education is important. The benefits of education are indisputable, both for each individual student and for our society’s future.

Table of Contents

How We Sometimes Undervalue Education

So, why is it that we put this overarching sense of importance on education, but in reality, people truly undervalue it?

One of the main ways that the undervaluing of education can be seen is through teachers’ universally low salaries. The government and the media seem to ignore the hard work and sacrifices teachers make to ensure children are given the best opportunity to succeed.

While some focus on the shorter hours of a school day and the summers off, we forget about the time teachers spend on lesson planning, grading papers, and completing administrative forms. Nor do we recognize the personal money teachers end up spending on educational materials the schools won’t provide.

However, we expect teachers to do the critical task of preparing our youth to take over and manage the world one day. Dedicated and hard-working teachers are undervalued, and the importance of the outcome of their work is often forgotten.

Furthermore, when considering  what people will do in other countries to receive an education , it is astounding that  our truancy rates are so high . In Tanzania, 8-year-olds walk 90 minutes both to and from school to gain an education, and in Zimbabwe, children are so motivated to learn that some leave their homes at 4:00 am to get to school by 7:00 am. 

Students in China  see their education as a privilege and respect their responsibility to learn to be successful adults.

This article will look at 11 reasons why education is critical on both a personal level and as a society . Whether that means formal education after high school or committing yourself to being a lifelong learner through self-education, the value of knowledge is immeasurable and, once gained, is something that can never be taken away from you. Let’s take a look at some of the reasons why education is so important.

11 Reasons Why Education Is Important

1. increased job opportunities.

Yes, this is certainly a factor that perpetuates the cycle of poverty, as those who do not have access to a quality education are much less likely to earn a living wage than those who do. But getting a diploma is indeed a requirement for obtaining certain jobs. The  US Bureau of Labor Statistics  shows us that the rate of unemployment drops with each higher rank of education that a person earns. We will cover this in more detail below.

Many jobs require applicants to have a minimum level of education to get an interview. If you already meet the educational requirements, exceeding these by having advanced degrees or certifications in a related subject will boost your likelihood of landing a job.

Once you've been offered a job, you will still benefit from your education. Higher education is often required for promotions, and by continuing your education even once you’re employed, you'll be eligible for those higher-paying job opportunities.

2. Ability to Think Critically

In the past, education focused on the ability to retain and recite information. Problem-solving was limited to math, and science classes were the only place where experiments were performed. Over time, learning progressed toward developing skills to prepare students to navigate the world outside of school.

Your critical thinking skills embody your ability to think for yourself, problem-solve, analyze information, integrate various sources of knowledge, and make decisions.  Studies have shown  that writing is the most effective way to improve critical thinking skills, and when equipped with these skills, people are better prepared to problem-solve in life and be productive, engaged citizens.

Students today face a steady cascade of information, especially from the internet, friends, and media, making it increasingly evident that they must know how to evaluate what they hear to determine any ideas that are false and look beyond the surface. Through brainstorming and discussions that occur in educational settings, students can enhance their abilities to think critically.

Check out this list of critical thinking questions to help you examine new information.

3. Increases a Passion for Learning

People are born with a passion for learning, as evidenced by babies’ relentless walking attempts and curiosity about everything in their surroundings. Teachers are attempting to keep this motivation alive by teaching using a “passion-based” method while students are still at an age where the information they’re learning is decided for them.

For example,  one school in Minnesota  taught using passion-based learning for a 10th-grade project. For the year-long project, students were asked to explore their own interests in order to meet the standards of learning. Each student researched and investigated a topic of their choice and wrote a ten-page paper recounting their research. As part of the project, each student identified an issue within their area of interest and took action to try to solve the problem.

One student with a passion for computer science collected enough electronic waste to fill two semi-trucks, reducing the waste that goes to landfills. Another student, who grew up in foster care, advocated for foster families to have access to more resources when opening their home to a child. All of the students used their experiences from their research to help solve community problems through their engagement in service-learning.

While not every student will gain a deep passion for learning while in school, the act of learning is the only thing that can ignite this passion to carry on past infancy and into adulthood.

If you're looking to set goals for the next school year,  here are some SMART goals examples for teachers .

4. Economic Growth

There is a lot of emphasis placed on “human capital” in our global economy for economic growth, which refers to the contribution that people can make. Each person's contribution to the economy's growth depends on their unique knowledge, training, skills, and competencies. Because of this, developing people’s skills and knowledge in any given field is a principle strategy for promoting economic growth.

Further, working and trading with other countries requires competition, and economically successful countries typically have some type of competitive advantage over those that aren’t.

A developed country can usually offer expertise in various industries, allowing them to have these competitive advantages in the global marketplace, and a big factor in determining the potential success of a country’s economy is the education and training of their workforce.

5. It Provides a Foundation for Knowledge

Your education lays the foundation for all of the knowledge you gain in life. And it’s important to eradicate the idea that education can only be something formal connected to an institution–classrooms are neither the beginning nor the end of education. Education is any enlightenment to new ideas, theories, or concepts. While this is often acquired in an academic, systematic way, this is not the only way your mind can grow.

Just like we self-educate as babies, when we realize we can lift ourselves and pick up toys, people can continue to educate themselves through resources such as  Skillshare ,  Udemy , and  Coursera . People also self-educate by watching videos on YouTube,  listening to educational podcasts , and reading. People can have the desire to do something new or differently at any point in their lives, and there are certainly resources out there to help meet this need.

It’s natural to want to solve a problem that you see, and while everyone may focus on their own subject or industry and  learn in a variety of ways , education is the only means of figuring out how to accomplish new things and improving upon your existing skills. No matter how you gain the knowledge that you seek, it will help build the foundation for further learning.

6. Equality

If we want a world that is both fair and just, where everyone has an opportunity to live a successful life (no matter what that looks like to them), education is a must. When certain world populations are sequestered from receiving an education, the world becomes unjust.

However, when more diverse populations are enrolled in schools, teachers must take the backgrounds and needs of all of the children into consideration when teaching their classes.

Well-designed educational programs recognize the importance of diversity among students and teach in inclusive ways that don’t overlook anyone’s background. When children grow up in such an environment of acceptance, they carry that value with them into adulthood, creating more equality in the world.

As people move on into higher education, they’re often more exposed to people with differing opinions or belief systems, forcing people to further break down the boundaries of their own beliefs. By gaining an awareness of how other people work, lead, and learn, students  can become more self-aware  of their own methods of doing these things.

7. Helps Build a Social Network

Sharing a common experience is one of the best ways to meet people and build both a  personal and professional network . Education lets you gain this experience through interactions with people both in formal and informal learning environments. When you learn alongside others who share your interests, you can create a bond with them that will set the foundation for your social and professional circle.

Networking in this manner will help you cultivate and improve your relevant skills, keep up with the latest trends in your field, stay on top of the job market,  meet people who could be mentors , business partners, or clients, and access resources that will  help in your career development .

8. Builds Confidence

Being educated can help anyone  feel confident in social situations  when people have intellectual conversations. Also, when people learn, they gain confidence in trying new things. But beyond that, while education for the elderly is often put on the backburner, it plays an important role in society.

Many seniors lack the confidence to continue their education and learn new things, but those who make an effort to gain new knowledge can often improve their lives and build up their self-esteem.

Learning new things is an important part of keeping the brain active as we age, as the process of learning can keep the mind sharp and improve memory by sustaining brain cells and making sure brain pathways continue to communicate with each other properly. 

Studies show  that continuing education into the later years of life can help reduce age-related cognitive decline and help seniors improve their self-image and fight symptoms of depression.

9. Encourages Future Generations

Parents who value education and continue learning either in a formal or informal setting after having children demonstrate to their children the importance of lifelong learning. Aside from just telling children about the importance of being in school, these parents demonstrate that by continuing to enhance their knowledge without the requirement to do so.

Further, children of parents who value education tend to stay in school longer, have lower crime rates, and have higher career aspirations than children whose parents are less enthusiastic about learning.

10. Fights Boredom

Boredom can be dangerous for many people, as it has been linked to increased drug and alcohol abuse, anxiety, depression, overeating, and other counterproductive coping mechanisms. However, when you challenge yourself to learn new things, you will experience less boredom, and it can prevent you from getting stuck in negative thought patterns and feelings.

Being in environments that don’t provide some kind of challenge doesn’t just leave people bored, but it also leads to feelings of disinterest and reduces the likelihood that you will do anything to change the situation. And more importantly, boredom will never lead to innovation, and it certainly doesn’t help you improve upon your existing strengths.

Continuing your education in any way can fight this by giving you a constant challenge and helping you continuously grow. Chances are that the more you learn, the more you will  want  to learn.

(If you’re looking for a way to prevent your kids from getting bored,  pick an educational app that can engage them in learning . If you're the one getting bored,  here are some educational games and apps for adults .)

[Bored? Looking for something to do?  Check out this list of 217 fun things to do when bored .]

11. Improves Skills

Getting an education isn't just about receiving a diploma. Your time in high school, college, or graduate school allows you to learn advanced skills for being an independent adult. The longer you spend in school, the more refined your reading, writing, understanding, and communication skills will become. You will also gain computer skills increasingly required in our advanced technological society.

A thorough education subjects people to a communal sense of identity and purpose as we learn how to operate in social and professional situations. Further, education cultivates our emotional intelligence, allowing people to learn to be empathetic to the differences of others and flexible with our perception of the world.

As you get used to interacting with different types of people in any sort of educational setting, the social skills you gain will serve you well in life as you navigate the world.

[Want to learn some new skills? Discover  101 new skill ideas you can start today .]

How to Get Involved in Your Child's Education

The most important figures for your child alongside their teacher is, of course, the parents. As a parent, you can significantly impact the progress your child makes academically. So, always strive to make positive contributions to your child's education by doing the following:

Education in Everyday Activities

Our day-to-day lives are filled with many opportunities to use education in our regular activities. Even using simple math when grocery shopping or learning new words when you go out to eat. All of these are small activities that can make a big impact. It is also a great way to reinforce and refresh what your child learns at school and in their current education system.

Homework Help

Don't let your children struggle to complete their homework on their own. Instead, make it an activity you can do together at home. Doing so offers your child encouragement and shows that you share a love of learning. This positive attitude will rub off on them and follow them through to higher education.

Participate in Extracurriculars

If there is something your child is interested in, then do what you can to encourage their growth in that area. Perhaps there is an after-school club they can join or a local group they can participate in outside of regular school hours.

Read Together

Reading is a very powerful skill and plays an important role in our lives. Reading for twenty minutes a night with your child can help spur their education, expand their vocabulary, and allows them to express themselves in different and more creative ways.

The Importance of Early Childhood Education

While many tend to focus more on the value and importance of primary school, high school education, and college education, we also have to continue to see the value of early childhood education as well.

It has been found that children who participate in an early childhood education system have improved social skills and do better in school than those who didn't receive this quality education. The early years for a young child are where we lay the groundwork for a successful future.

Early childhood education provides young children a base for quality education, lifelong learning, and life skills. It also teaches cognitive and social development that helps them enter modern society as they get older.

How Does Education Affect Employment and Society?

A higher education level can increase a person's chances of receiving a comparable wage and reduce the time it takes for unemployed people to find new employment. According to data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics , “earnings increase and unemployment decreases as educational attainment rises.”

A proper education also helps people become better citizens, increases the literacy rate, helps you land a better job that pays more and shows the importance of hard work. Additionally, a quality education helps us grow and develop in our lives, so we can shape the society we want to live in.

Final Thoughts on the Importance of Education

Education is an essential component to ensure future generations can address issues such as widespread disease, global warming, the exponential development of technology, and the need for ethical leadership and the protection of all citizens. Education is also the key to ensuring that in our era of robotics and artificial intelligence, our potential as humans continues to be maximized.

Our future requires more than the required knowledge that people gain before entering their 20s. Education is the only way to build a society that can analyze, interpret, and problem-solve through unpredictable obstacles across all disciplines. The future will continue to demand unprecedented solutions to problems we have never faced as a society as we continue to enter uncharted territories.

Finally, if you want to take your goal-setting efforts to the next level, check out this FREE printable worksheet and a step-by-step process that will help you set effective SMART goals .

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9+ compelling reasons of the Importance of education in 2024

We all know the importance of education, but why is it so important? Is it really worth the time and money? Read more to learn about the top 9 reasons highlighting the importance of education.

Table of Contents

Importance of education in life, 1. realizing your true potential , 2. sharpening critical skills , 3. more opportunities , 4. financial stability , 5. supporting a developed society , 6. giving back to the community , 7. blurring geographical boundaries, 8. equal opportunities , 9. as a tool for empowerment, importance of education for students – bonus reasons, key takeaways.

Education is not how well you can read and write but whether you can communicate with and understand the world around you. A good education not only teaches you skills but also helps you broaden your horizons, gain better perspective, and teaches you to think for yourself. People today are quite aware and comfortable speaking about social injustices and other pressing issues.

This can be attributed to the increased access to education around the world, which in turn has made society more accepting and open-minded. Therefore, education is an element of human evolution. The importance of education is also pronounced in areas of creativity and innovation. Education encourages thinking outside the box and experimenting with new ideas.

Studying abroad is a transformative aspect of education. Immersing oneself in a foreign country enriches the educational journey by providing unique insights into global diversity. It cultivates adaptability, independence, and cross-cultural communication skills, broadening horizons beyond one’s home country. Moreover, the exposure to different educational systems and diverse peers fosters creativity and innovation, crucial for addressing global challenges and advancing society.

What is the importance of education?

There many reasons why education is important in one’s life. We have listed out the top 9 reasons why education is required for you and the society we live in.

A good education helps you recognize yourself and your strengths. As you learn about the world and yourself, you come across things that interest you. You find things you are good at and figure out how you can contribute and help the world grow.

Education gives you opportunities to explore yourself, and your surroundings and empowers you to understand the ways of the world. It gives you the freedom to live a life of your choice.

Education helps you develop critical skills like decision-making, mental agility, problem-solving, and logical thinking. People face problems in their professional as well as personal lives. In such situations, their ability to make rational and informed decisions comes from how educated and self-aware they are.

Education also breeds creativity and innovation. When you take time to understand how the world works presently, only then can you come up with solutions and alternatives for existing problems.

Education opens up new avenues. When you invest in educating yourself about a particular subject, you broaden your perspective in that area. As a result, you get opportunities to test and enhance your skillset. When you attend college or become a part of an organization, you get to meet the right people. You become a part of a community and also discover new things about yourself.

Moreover, as you educate yourself, you are learning something new every day without even realizing it. Your accolades in college and otherwise are indicative of your competence and can open doors for you.

Yet another benefit of having a strong educational background is financial stability. Students who graduate from esteemed colleges have a higher chance of landing well-paying jobs. The more knowledge you gain, the more skilled you become, and hence more opportunities open for you. If you are good at something and know your way around it, rest assured you will be compensated well.

Education is imperative when it comes to building a modern society. When people learn about things like culture, history, and science, they can view problems from a much-informed perspective. Education teaches values and helps in the development of society as a whole. It gives people a chance to mold themselves into more responsible members of society.

Educated individuals are also more likely to get well-paying jobs and engage in effective trade and commerce practices. These, in turn, contribute to driving more capital to the economy. Hence, education drives growth in countries and supports a developing society.

When people can afford a stable life for themselves, they are more likely to take the initiative to solve local problems. Education enables people to be self-dependent. It also teaches people the need for a stable and secure community. As a result, people join hands to help the less fortunate and solve the community’s most pressing issues.

The importance of education is at the forefront when it comes to social issues. No matter if it is the education of maintaining clean neighborhoods, practicing good sanitation, or knowing your rights. People can lift other people only by exposing them to new possibilities by educating them.

The importance of education is especially pronounced when we want to communicate with people from different cultures across the world. When we have a wide knowledge base, it is easy for us to find common ground with someone from a different place.

Digital mediums of learning and spreading information have played an instrumental role in bridging this gap. They have allowed more people to connect, interact and learn. This new way of teaching and learning has blurred geographical boundaries and contributed to sharing insights and opinions, broadening the horizons of all involved.

Education helps us create equal opportunities. People from different genders, religions, castes, races, and cultures have multiple possibilities laid out in front of them because of education. They in turn strive to create more opportunities for others, even if only within their community. Education has made filling an irrational rift possible by making merit the only criterion for judgment.

Education makes people more tolerant of others. It makes them more open-minded, so they can accept different views and opinions. This further opens the gates for equal opportunities and a better standard of living for everyone.

As mentioned above, education is the most powerful tool in the world. Minority sections are usually left unseen and ignored despite their potential. Educating these sections of society not only initiates their growth but also the growth of society because empowered people empower people.

For instance, increased education rates for women have led more women to join the workforce across various industries and stand up against the inequality they face. More and more women are being empowered through education, which has helped in the creation of a more inclusive and empathetic society. There is still a long way to go, but the importance of education in empowering sections of society cannot be overlooked.

• It enables you to become independent, confident, and courageous.
• Creates a safer world to live in.
• Improves productivity in society.
• Helps you get to know yourself
• Improves mental as well as physical health.
• Promotes and maintains peace among members of the global community.
• Develops problem-solving and critical thinking skills.
• Helps in keeping up with the dynamic environment and adapting to it.
• Nelson Mandela once said, “Education is the most powerful weapon in the world,” and it sure is.
• Education can change the world. If you think about it, having an education shaped you as a human being.
• You are aware of yourself, you realize your place in the world, and you can dream of achieving big things.
• This is why the importance of education cannot be stressed enough.

We hope you enjoyed reading this blog. In case of any queries, reach out to us or drop a comment below.

Liked this blog? Read next: School education | Here’s why it is important for students!

Q1. Why is education important for success?

Answer- Education provides you with opportunities and challenges. The more you learn, your knowledge increases, helping you achieve your dreams and become successful.

Q2. How can education improve your life?

Answer- By being educated, you become aware of the benefits of a healthy lifestyle. It leads to better life choices, better skills, and self-advocacy. Therefore, it not only improves your quality of life but also develops effective habits.

Q3. What is the power of education?

Answer- Good quality education has the power to inculcate necessary skills and bring change in the community. It has the power to impact individuals, communities, and future generations.

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How to List an Unfinished Degree on Your Resume

When you’re working on a college degree or withdrew before graduating, you may wonder how to list an unfinished degree in the resume education section. Learn more about how to handle this situation to optimize your resume.

If you’ve attended college but not graduated, you may wonder how to list an incomplete degree on your resume. You may think it’s best to leave it out, especially if it’s not needed for the position you’re applying for, but employers are interested in what you studied, even if you didn’t complete a degree program.

This article explores ways to craft the education section of a resume if you haven’t finished a degree program. We’ll examine how to position your education to highlight the coursework relevant to the position you're applying for. 

What are employers looking for in a resume? 

A resume tells prospective employers about your work experience, education, and skills. A resume helps an employer determine how you’ll fit into the position and the company itself. It’s a brief overview, typically one or two pages, that describes the following:

Summary of your strengths and career objectives 

Work experience 

Additional information, such as awards, skills, and interests

Your resume should include all the information an employer needs to ensure you have the qualifications necessary for the position and schedule an interview. 

Why is listing your education on your resume important? 

Your education gives potential employers an idea about the skills you may have. Although it is only one of the factors that hiring managers look at, it’s essential to remember that your resume is your introduction to prospective employers and a critical tool to help you get an interview if you meet the qualifications they seek. Employers want to ensure your education aligns with the position. Education can also substitute for a lack of work experience. 

Even if you’ve only taken some college courses, list the ones related to the job you're applying for. Doing so helps prospective employers see that you have gained relevant skills and knowledge. It’s especially beneficial if you’ve never worked in the field or have little experience. 

College coursework shows prospective employers that you may need minimal training. If the courses you completed match the required skills, it can save the employer the time and cost of training.

How to list an unfinished degree on your resume 

It’s vital to phrase things positively and honestly on your resume. Whether you’ve withdrawn from college, changed majors that delayed your graduation date, or are working toward an undergraduate degree, word the education section of a resume positively. Replace words such as “incomplete” or “unfinished” with action-oriented words like “accomplished” and “demonstrated” to highlight your education.

If you are attending college but haven’t finished your program or left and have no immediate plans to return, you should list any relevant coursework and the year or years you attended. 

Many employers use the National Student Clearinghouse to verify college attendance, so you should be honest about your education. You likely won’t get an interview if the information doesn’t match. Before applying for jobs, you can request your information from the Clearinghouse to ensure its accuracy.  

You may need to tailor your resume’s education section each time you apply to a position to meet the specific employer’s requirements. Some information is standard; however, you can tailor your education to include coursework relevant to the position. 

List school and degree program title.

First, list the school you attended and the degree program title. You only need to list your high school education if a specific course relates to the position you’re seeking. For example, if you’re applying for a job requiring Spanish fluency and took four years of Spanish in high school, you’ll want to add it to your resume. 

Include the expected completion date.

If you currently attend college, include your expected completion date. If you withdrew, note the number of credits earned, the enrolled program, and the years attended. 

You can highlight your college experience by listing relevant courses, internships, or honors received while attending. You might want to add your GPA. Many employers in technical fields want to know prospective employees' GPAs, while other employers might not find it as significant as other qualifications.

Include relevant majors and minors.

You’ll want to list any majors and minors. You can specify courses you took that are relevant to the position and your major GPA if you feel it will reflect favorably on your performance. You should list your major first, followed by your minor. You can also include relevant coursework and any extracurricular activities you participated in if you lack work experience.

Include professional development. 

If you lack academic requirements, you can add any job training you received and workshops and seminars you’ve attended. If you’re attending college, you can also opt to list activities you engage in that are relevant to the job you’re applying for or the skills employers seek.

Include any relevant projects.

If you worked on any school or work projects related to the position you’re seeking, add them to the education section. This is also an excellent opportunity to share the link to your online portfolio of projects if you have one. 

An example education section with an unfinished degree

You’ll want to add the information to your education section if you have college credits but not a degree. You can write it as follows:

University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. Completed 64 credit hours toward a BS in computer science, 2018 - 2020.  

You should include related coursework and any other academic information, such as honors and certificates. Some colleges offer micro-credentials and other certificate programs that can boost the education section of your resume.

Other factors to consider 

The resume template you choose will dictate where you’ll list your education. Many templates are available for specific disciplines, such as nursing, education, technology, and the arts. Some templates lead with the education section, so if you haven’t completed a degree program, you might consider beginning with experience and adding education at the end.

If the coursework you completed or the degree program you’re enrolled in isn’t related to the position you’re applying for, consider moving the education section at the end of your resume. Begin relevant details that help highlight your unique qualifications for the position.  

Get started with Coursera.

Having a degree is only one aspect of what employers are looking for. Crafting an effective resume that shows potential employers all you have to offer is an essential component of applying for a job. You can find several helpful options on Coursera to help you improve your resume writing skills. 

For example, the State University of New York offers a seven-module course on How to Write a Resume you can complete in approximately five hours. Writing Winning Resumes and Cover Letters, offered by the University of Maryland, College Park, is a 12-hour course that can help you hone your writing skills while earning a certificate to add to your resume. 

Keep reading

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Coursera’s editorial team is comprised of highly experienced professional editors, writers, and fact...

This content has been made available for informational purposes only. Learners are advised to conduct additional research to ensure that courses and other credentials pursued meet their personal, professional, and financial goals.

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*Mac and Linux are compatible with Java Edition only.

Poisonous Potato Update

The (s)mashing update you always asked for!

Imagine being a potato. Now imagine being the potato’s less popular sibling who didn’t inherit the tuber-licious looks the rest of your family possesses. What’s worse is – you're facing the impossible decision of what to do with all this starch? Since neither French fries nor couch potato sat right with you, there's only one option remaining. Congratulations friend, you’re a poisonous potato. 

For years, Minecraft’s own toxic tuber has been neglected and underappreciated, lacking both purpose and usefulness. For years, you – the community – tried to highlight this, working tirelessly to bring it to our attention and literally begging us for more functionality. As of today, your concerns are a thing of the past. 

Mojang Studios is proud to release our most well-boiled update to date that will add so much usability to the poisonous potato that even tater-haters will become devoted spud-buds. The Poisonous Potato Update – rich in both carbs AND features! You asked. We delivered. Or maybe you didn’t ask, but we delivered anyway? In any case, it is HERE! 

GET THE SNAPSHOT UPDATE 

Snapshots are available for Minecraft: Java Edition. To install the snapshot, open up the Minecraft Launcher and enable snapshots in the "Installations" tab. You can even play the snapshot on your own Java Realms together with your friends! 

Remember, snapshots can corrupt your world, so please back up your world and/or run the snapshot in a different folder from your main worlds.  

-> DOWNLOAD THE CROSS-PLATFORM SERVER JAR

Poisonous potato add-on.

The roots of the poisonous potato run deep within Minecraft and extends far beyond Java Edition. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that the tuber-lar sensation has spread its influence to Bedrock Edition as well. With Jigarbov’s Poisonous Potato add-on , you’ll be able to experience the joy of the poisonous potato the way it was always intended – through blocks and furniture to weapons and armor.

-> GET THE ADD-ON

Gameplay & features.

• Poisonous potatoes – LOTS of poisonous potatoes! 
• A few normal potatoes too! 
• The homeland of all potato kind
• Five spud-tastic biomes: fields, hash, arboretum, corruption, and wasteland 
• Experience the life of a potato – from its inception as a raw potato picked from the fields, through cooked hash browns, to its eventual decay
• Local weather with a-mashing effects 
• Added the Colosseum, home to the lord of potato kind... 
• A whole sack of a-peeling new blocks 
• Rich in Vitamin C, Vitamin B6, and Niacin! 
• No new mineral blocks. No need! The blocks themselves contain minerals: Potassium, Magnesium, and Iron! 
• Added the frying table – everyone asked for it, so we added it. It fries potato things. It's a really nice model! 
• Added functionality to the fletching table. You can now fletch toxic resin into more refined versions of the resin. 
• Added impurities because purity is overrated 
• Added a whole bunch new gadgets that will tune your poisonous potato game up to eleven! 
• You get it by now. They’re all poisonous potatoes... 

TECHNICAL CHANGES 

• The flux capacitor integration now synergizes with quantum voxelization, which enables a 360-noscope enhancing real-time RTX terrain-rendering nightshade multibox spectrum acceleration while optimizing transdimensional entity synchronization for seamless vitelotte-king edwards-russel burbank experiences! 

WHAT HAPPENS IF I DOWNLOAD THE UPDATE?

Then you will be the proud owner of the file that contains the update. 

WHAT CAN I EXPECT IN TERMS OF GAMEPLAY?  

Poisonous potatoes. We hope this article has made that perfectly clear. 

I DON’T BELIEVE I ASKED FOR THIS UPDATE, IF I’M HONEST. 

You might not have – but your brain (or maybe belly) did! 

ARE THERE CURRENTLY ANY OTHER CARB-BASED UPDATES IN THE WORKS? 

Great question! Please look forward to the Radioactive Rice Update and Toxic Taro Update in the very distant future! 

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