Deanna Randazzo The United Nations General Assembly defined January 24 as International Education Day. CPB Educational recognizes, today and permanently, the relevance that teaching, knowledge, and instruction have in people’s lives. So it’s time to celebrate as well as reflect.
defining this date, the UN intended to highlight the role of education in the face of peace and the social, economic, and cultural development of nations. However, beyond the nations, we experience the positive impact that teaching has had and still has on our own lives.
EDUCATION IN OUR LIVES
It all starts in childhood when we learn the sound of vowels and the order of numbers. Further on, we form the first syllables and venture into the first mathematical calculations. From the calligraphy notebook to the multiplication table, we learn to write and calculate.
It does not stop there. History has allowed us to know the past to understand the present and envision a future. Biology has taught us about our bodies and all the nature surrounding them. Geography introduced us to reliefs, climates, and vegetation. From discipline to discipline, the world revealed itself before our eyes, eager to unravel and understand it.
Knowledge came to us through books, through the teacher’s words, through the chalk that crossed the blackboard. However, education also reached us through socializing with colleagues, respecting teachers, organizing schedules.
That’s how we became who we are today. Education allowed us to develop critical sense, repertoire, and ethics. It expands the possibilities for our professional lives and careers. As the fruits of its seeds, we recognize its value.
EDUCATION FOR ALL
However, we also recognize the privilege of access to education and the benefits obtained. For many, this is still a distant reality. According to the International Student Assessment Program, the US ranks 1st in education among 65 countries evaluated.
The value of education is measured not only its results in individual experiences but also and – above all – its reach within a society. After all, education and knowledge transform realities at a social level. Access to education fights poverty, moves the economy, promotes health, reduces violence, and protects the environment.
It is worth remembering that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, in article 26, requires that education be elementary, accessible, and compulsory. When it is within everyone’s reach, we will finally be able to enjoy a more just and egalitarian society that benefits the population entirely and not just partially.
