Silent Voices For Education For All?

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Silent Voices For Education For All?

July 9, 2013 | | News | GCE-US

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“If you think you’re too small to make a difference, you have never been in bed with a mosquito!”- Anita Roddick

Have you protested against the outrageous gas prices lately? Were you standing outside the Supreme Court protesting for the legalization of gay marriage? Have you voiced your opinion toward the N.R.A? If so, that’s awesome, but why are our country’s voices so silenced when it comes to the education of all children? Where are the idealistic and altruistic people to speak up for those who can’t? All these issues are important and our voices shall never be silenced. Each and every one of these concerns shall be at the forefront of Americans’ attention.

Most people would like to imagine a world in which every individual, regardless of race or gender, has an equal opportunity to education. From birth, children should be nurtured and given skills that are necessary to succeed in our country. Women should not be condemned to a life of missed opportunities and minorities should not be denied success because of their skin color.

More importantly, children raised in low-income areas should not be looked upon as “charity cases,” or children who do not have a chance to succeed. While it holds true that these children may not have as many resources available to them, they do have the power within them to succeed. It is imperative that leaders and people all over the nation to believe in low-income children and make a change.

Growing up in a family who held education to its highest standard, I was blessed with a number of resources that I needed to succeed. Sadly, I was blinded by my blessings and fell victim to not fighting for children who did not have the same opportunities as me. As a junior in college, I changed that by becoming the Vice President of an organization called Destination Detroit – an organization focused on building bridges between student groups on campus through meaningful service with Detroit Public Schools. For anyone that knows Detroit, they know that a majority of the schools aren’t in the greatest condition and do not have the best resources. Being a part of Destination Detroit has opened my eyes and has allowed me to become a strong advocate for providing all children with equal opportunities to become successful. After every trip I took to Detroit, with a number of my peers from Michigan State University, I became well versed with reasons as to why every child should be given the right to acquire basic skills and knowledge at a very young age in every public institution. Children need education to be successful, and investing in our children leads to reduced poverty rates and promotes gender equality, therefore not only sustaining a stable future for every young individual, but also leading our nation to the top.

Education offers a safe environment for children, where they gain knowledge about life skills that can prevent diseases. New analysis by the Global Campaign for Education suggests that if all children received a complete primary education, the economic impact of HIV/AIDS could be greatly reduced and around 700,000 cases of HIV in young adults could be prevented each year—seven million in a decade. Education allows women to become more productive with their skills, leading to more competitive young adults in a developing or developed nation. In recent decades, there has been growing recognition of early childhood development, primarily in the first 5-6 years of a child’s life. Economists, educators, and scientists have examined the formation of intelligence, personality, and social behavior for a child during these years and how it leads to influence the development of a nation in the near future. For every dollar not spent on a child’s education it is guaranteed that nearly double that will be invested in prison centers. As an advocate for equal, quality education, I prefer the former as opposed to the latter.

Notice how I said economists, educators, and scientists. That’s the important part. Education has become this political controversy between the rich and the poor, the public schools and the private schools, and where people’s tax dollars are being “given.” Sadly, people have overlooked that education is an issue all should agree on because it is vital in every child’s life.

---Lexis Zeidan