What makes knowledge so important? Who must have knowledge and how much of it is necessary? Menand, Kozol, and I share similar as well as opposing beliefs on what knowledge is? I believe that knowledge is all around us and it is completely necessary in our world today. It is necessary for everyone to gain higher levels of knowledge in order to be able to work together with others and become a useful part of society. As Blaise Pascal says, “We must learn our limits. We are all something, but none of us are everything.” As persons, we are nothing, but as a whole, we can do anything.
I have always believed that knowledge is widespread. It had never occurred to me, until reading essays from Menand and Kozol, that knowledge may not be so common. I knew that not everyone was well educated but I did not imagine that such a vast part of our civilization does not even have the basic knowledge of how to read and write at an 8th grade level. Having more illiterates in America alone may have even changed politics. “The number of illiterate adults exceeds by 16 million the entire vote case for the winner in the 1980 presidential contest. If even one-third of all illiterates could vote, and read enough and do sufficient math to vote in their self-interest, Ronald Reagan would not likely have been chosen president” (Kozol 39). It is scary to think that either from apathy or illiteracy, people do not take part in their own Government’s decisions.
It’s depressing how illiterates are handicapped so much when it comes to politics alone, but what if they are just as handicapped when it comes to day to day functions? Kozol believes that illiterates are basically unable to function in the society today. “Illiterates cannot look up numbers in a telephone directory…Illiterates do not buy “no-name” products in the supermarkets…Illiterates depend almost entirely upon label recognition” (Kozol 42). Illiterates can’t even drive cars because they can’t read road signs and wouldn’t know how to navigate if they were lost. I agree with him on a personal level because my Grandfather never went to school and he was just given a basic education by his father, but he can’t read signs and can’t read books. It is important to go to school and learn how to be a valuable asset to this world.
Jonathan Kozol believes that it is vital to have at least a basic education level. He states in his essay “The Human Cost of an Illiterate Society” that education is a NEED, to be able to function as an individual in our society today. “Illiterates cannot read the menu in a restaurant…They cannot read the cost of items on the menu in the window of the restaurant before they enter…Illiterates cannot read the letters that their children bring home from their teachers” (Kozol 40). This is absolutely true. Illiterates have no place in today’s society because they will feel segregated and lost when they try to do things that only literates can do. With these limitations how can they successfully contribute to our society? The more educated and informed people there are, the more people will be likely to get engaged in the community. If people are informed about politics, they will likely vote and help campaign. Since so much of the people, illiterates and those who are ill informed about politics, do not vote, The People have very little say in their own Government. “So long as million people are denied significant participation, the government is neither of, nor for, nor by, the people” (Kozol). I believe this is absolutely true. With the absence of informed citizens to vote, we will have very little say in our own Government.
Universities are, in my opinion, very beneficial to a person in many ways. They are very important because they help people become better and more successful. Universities prepare students for life after school. These institutions are established for us to better our knowledge and to allow us to experience the freedom, in increments, that we will one day, hopefully have. Universities are thought of, by many students right after high school, as “The next logical step” before entering the workforce. As this is true, it is even more than just the next step. “A college education is much further than just getting the skills to get a good job” (Adam 2). Students with Degrees above a simple high school degree are likely to get better jobs than those without. Aside from the job aspect of it, Colleges are a very good transition from high school to the real world. The education you get from a College or University does not even compare to the life lessons a person learns through college. You will become a better person in so many ways.
Is it important to get a higher education such as that of a University or College? With the growing number of businesses around the world requiring a bachelor’s degree, it is almost mandatory now to get one. This is also where we can see problems. With all these jobs requiring a higher level of education, where will it end? If we need a BA degree in 2007 just to get an average job, what can we expect for the future since more and more people will have BA degrees. Will they lose their value and result in businesses requiring MA degrees? It is hard to know what the future holds as far as our knowledge is concerned.
With the focus of society strongly urging us to attend college and graduate with a degree, why require so many courses? Menand says that core courses are pointless since students don’t care about them; students simply take them because they are required. “Students in the humanities are expected to major in a field – French, say, or religion – that will provide them with a lot of knowledge most of which will be useful only in the unlikely event they decide to enter graduate school and become professors themselves” (Menand 260). This is very true because most of the required courses I’m taking now, I don’t put extra effort into except what’s required to pass the class. I don’t plan on ever using those courses again, so why even take them? I think that the amount of required courses should be reduced. However, in place of those courses, should be more courses that relate to the student’s major. It can be very beneficial to a student by having less required courses because they can graduate faster, as well as have more knowledge in their designated field.
Universities and Colleges are just a small part of the big picture. It all comes down to knowledge and our ability to make a better world for ourselves. “Do we possess the character and courage to address a problem which so many nations, poorer than our own, have found it natural to correct?’ (Kozol 46). His question motivates me to want to help the lesser educated people in this world, but how can I make a difference when it isn’t even my choice. “Perhaps we might slow down a moment here and look at the realities described above. This is the nation that we live in. This is a society that most of us did not create but which our President and other leaders have been willing to sustain by virtue of malign neglect” (Kozol 45). The president or significant leader in the other countries choose how their population will be educated. I believe that education is very important and that we should set National standards that require societies to obtain certain levels of knowledge.
In conclusion, knowledge is a very important part of our life. Without it, we cannot function in today’s society; with not enough, it is much harder to succeed in today’s society. So to answer the question “What makes knowledge so important?”, we need knowledge to continue our existing ways of living, and to in turn improve our society over time. Knowledge is a very important part of the world, and we should do everything in our power to attain more of it.
