By J.D. Rottweiler, Ph.D.
The year 2016 may go down in history as the time Arizona began its climb toward the top of the education rankings. The state is taking steps to improve both standards and funding. The process will take time and may be difficult, but the benefits will be worth it. Public awareness and support is helping it happen.
But this isn’t a column about investing more in education. Rather, it’s about each of us as individuals making the most of the educational opportunities we have – not just to improve our own personal prospects, but for the good of society. It’s the people who are aware of the value of education who are the ones advocating for it, at times overshadowed by louder voices.
Public education itself dates to colonial times. Thomas Jefferson himself saw it as a necessity. “No other sure foundation can be devised for the preservation of freedom and happiness,” he wrote from Paris to George Wythe, his law teacher and mentor, in August 1786.
Every resident of this country has the opportunity to earn a high school diploma. If you think that’s not especially valuable, try making a living without one. Second, the opportunity is there to build on that credential, by enrolling in a trade school, community college or university. Yes, it can be hard, but it’s a small price to pay for the economic and social security achieved during your lifetime. Educational attainment is linked with earning potential, life expectancy, overall health and wellness, civic participation (including voting), and even happiness.
Besides the obvious personal benefits, there are the social ones implied by Jefferson. Perhaps education could help us combat or prevent some of the unsettling situations occurring at the state, national and international levels. Education promotes the concept that individuals think rationally and voice opinions in a coherent manner and safe environment, that they have the tools to overcome differences in a civilized manner, that they have the ability to accept differences and make compromises, that dignity follows disagreement. In an educated world, outrageousness and violence are out; thoughtfulness and civil discourse are in. Paraphrasing Jefferson, an educated citizenry is a vital requisite for our survival as a free people.
Education may not be a panacea; there are things beyond our control. The term “wisdom” suggests the application of both knowledge and good sense, formed by education and life experience. We’re not born wise. But without the pursuit of wisdom, often shaped by formal education, it won’t be long before we don’t know what we don’t know. Imagine the social chaos.
For our own good, let’s take the education we receive seriously, honor it by way of reasonable behavior, promote the concept of civility among ourselves, and continue working to improve educational opportunities and the quality of life for future generations.
J.D. Rottweiler is president of Cochise College. Contact him at jdr@cochise.edu.