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Value of Education in Today's Socieity

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Value of Education in Today’s Society

Patricia D. Campbell

Athens State University

Value of Education in Today’s Society

Education can have a transformative effect on an individual’s life. The level and quality

of an individual’s education can determine that individual’s standard of living and impact the

standard of living of the entire community (Vila, 2000). Educational opportunity needs to be

available at the earliest age and continue at every level to help launch the individual on a

successful path. Examples include teaching core values of caring for others, the meaning of right

and wrong and being responsible for oneself and one’s actions (Johansson, 2009). Ultimately,

the value of education has both economic and humanistic components. Research indicates a

balanced approach yields the greatest benefits for the individual and the greater society. This is

especially relevant as the world becomes a smaller place and individuals become global citizens.

Beginning in the 1600’s in the New England colonies, education was originally a private

endeavor conducted in homes with families teaching children how to read, primarily for religious reasons so that they could read the Bible (Thattai, 2001). The country’s oldest school was founded in Boston in 1635 and taught grammar in Latin. Several other communities in the colonies had grammar schools by the 1700’s teaching a curriculum in Latin and Greek. Some of these schools also taught reading and writing in English, but according to Van Scotter (1991), “What students learned about history, philosophy, natural science, and even mathematics came through their study of the classics” (p. 47).
Following the American Revolution, a case was made for education being the basis for prosperity and survival of the new nation. In 1779, Thomas Jefferson introduced the idea of

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