Privileges of education taken for granted by many
Ally Patton
How far would you go for your education?
If given the choice, would you choose school or food? I’m sure there are plenty of people out there sacrificing meals to make ends meet. After all, the joke about college kids surviving on Ramen noodles didn’t originate from nowhere.
But when it becomes impossible to pay for both, what do we do? Take a semester off school to earn some money. Or, worst case scenario, drop out of college entirely.
In Kenya, many students as young as primary school make that choice daily. Food is what they sacrifice, eating one meal a day, if they’re lucky. All to pay for education.
How much do we value our education?
Recently, I complained online to my friend George in Kenya that I hated staying up until 3 a.m. to finish all my homework. But he immediately put things into perspective for me. He told me: “If you make it through this, then you will be set for the next 70 years of your life.”
George doesn’t have the opportunity to attend a university. In his early twenties, he’s academically brilliant. No kidding. Let me give you an example. Although he is already bilingual in English and Swahili, he is also teaching himself Greek and Hebrew. How many of us have the drive to dedicate ourselves to becoming multilingual in our spare time? Yeah, me neither.
George wishes to be an attorney. However, his dream seems unlikely. There are simply no educational opportunities for him. He doesn’t even have a high school education because secondary schooling was too expensive.
Can you imagine being denied your high school education? Instead of viewing high school as a privilege, how many of us considered it something we were obviously entitled to? How many of us took that four-year learning experience for granted? I know I did.
The university level in Kenya is even more difficult to attain. When the average Kenyan makes $4,000 per year (I’m not forgetting a zero), how can someone be expected to afford a college education? Did someone say scholarships and loans? Genius idea. Too bad institutions only allow approximately 10 legitimate considerations each year.
Without these options, George did the only thing he could. He enrolled in a polytechnic school where he learned mechanics and welding. But without a high school education, despite his trade school training, few employers will consider hiring him.
Learning this puts my own education into perspective. I have no right to complain. I should value my time in the classroom, knowing the majority of young people around the globe don’t have this option. I am so privileged to have academic opportunities. We all are. And if you’re like me, you’re not even sacrificing breakfast, lunch and dinner to be here. Remember this as we break for the Thanksgiving holiday and return to the chaos of final exams. As college students, we are truly blessed.
Ally Patton is a columnist for The Nevada Sagebrush. She can be reached at apatton@nevadasagebrush.com.
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November 18th, 2008 at 2:09 am
As college students, we are not “sacrificing breakfast, lunch and dinner to be here” - most college students I know get student loans to help pay for school - student loans that they’ll be paying off for at least a decade after their graduation. While I appreciate the main message in your article, I think it would be better suited for students in countries with free college education. We still have to pay…
And do primary school students in Kenya pay for their education on a daily basis with their breakfast/lunch/dinner money? How do they choose whether to eat or study? Do they go to school every other day? Or do they pay with their meal money 5 days a week and then gorge on the weekend? Either Kenya’s education system is from Bizarro-world, or someone got their facts wrong…
November 18th, 2008 at 8:49 am
“Most college students” that you know Grigory probably does not amount to more than a few dozen. But considering how unpopular you are, I’d venture to guess that number is far less. That said, there are many UNR students on financial aid receiving free money. Or there are students who have their schooling paid for by trust funds. Not everyone is taking loans, as you say. Who are you to what country Ms. Patton’s column is better suited for?
Furthermore, yes. Kenya’s school system is from Bizarro-world. In 2003, primary education became free. However, considering the level of corruption in government, much of these funds are misappropriated and line the pockets of these politicians. Education is not free after that either. Students in secondary school and what they call “tertiary school” pay for their tuition on a daily basis. Teachers collect money from the students. If they don’t have money, they send them home. Kenya is an incredibly underdeveloped country. Just like you seem to be an incredibly underdeveloped human being.
November 18th, 2008 at 11:49 am
If that’s indeed the case, then I stand corrected. A system that bizarre didn’t seem too probable - or at all, for that matter.
I didn’t say _everyone_ is taking loans - I said most people I know. And I don’t know anybody supported by a trust fund, so both our view points can coexist peacefully - unlike, it seems, ourselves. Just how unpopular am I, Mr.Felix? And would you care to enlighten me with some more of your ad hominem attacks launched from the anonymity of the web?
November 19th, 2008 at 12:12 pm
A crap table at Harrah’s pretty much paid for my junior and senior year tuition. Granted,that was before they started 1099ing winnings. It worked for me.
November 28th, 2008 at 11:59 am
George Patsourakos
Americans tend to take education for granted — especially from elementary school through high school — because education is a part of American culture. In fact, most of our states require children to attend school from the ages of five through 16. In many underdeveloped countries, education is considered a luxury, and children as young as five may be working on farms. While the cost of college tuition might deprive many students from purchasing various things they would like, this deprivation is worth it when one considers the importance of a college education!