Faith Stillwell

Mr. Maslonka
English 101 Sec 18
20 April 2015
The Advantages of Education

Education is the process by which an individual takes in knowledge and then uses what
they learned later in life. Dictionary .com states that it is, the act or process of imparting or
acquiring general knowledge, developing the powers of reasoning and judgment, and generally
of preparing oneself or others intellectually for mature life( Dictionary). Education is the
foundation of what this country, the United States of America, is all about. It comes in all
different forms and has changed over the years. Education is a requirement that needs to be taken
seriously and it should be known that there are many advantages when it comes to getting the
right education. As a result, education is a good thing to have.
Before the understanding of what getting the right education could mean, one must
understand the different levels of education that have to be taken. There are three basic levels of
education. The first level of education that one must obtain before pursuing a college degree is
primary education. Primary education is grades Kindergarten through 8th grade. Public
elementary enrollment goes through prekindergarten through grade 8 (Digest of Education
Statistics). Public school enrollment at the elementary level (prekindergarten through grade 8)
rose from 29.9 million in fall 1990 to 34.2 million in fall 2003. (Digest of Education Statistics).
The next level of education is Secondary education. This education is high school, which are
grades 9th through 12th. Once one graduates high school and receives their diploma, they can
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attend the last level of education post-secondary, which is a college/university.

Colleges/Universities can vary anywhere from 2-6 years (some even longer) depending on the
profession the student wants to pursue. Again, students cannot look into a college or university
unless they have obtained their high school diploma and understand the advantages of having
one. As a result, there are many different levels of education that you take in school.
The first advantage of having a good high school education would be getting into college.
High school education is important and fortunately can be obtained easily because it is free. It is
the foundation of learning and the students future to come. It can be hard but it is worth it when
the students get a diploma. An article, written by John Hechinger on bloomberg.com, explains
that the rates of those that graduate from high school has increased over the past few years
compared to those graduating in the 1990s. These rates show that about 78.2% of
students who graduate now received a diploma. While about 75.5% of students who graduated in
the 1990s got one (Hechinger, bloomberg.com). Of these percentages, around 55% in the 1990s
went on to college, and today we are well into the 60% range of students who graduated high
school go on to further their education (Mortenson, HigherEdInfo.org). These facts mean that
more students are graduating from high school now and a larger percent of those go on for
further schooling. It seems that Americans today are convinced that a college education is crucial
to the students future career and the future of America. As a result, is that you need an education
to get into college.
Another advantage of having a good education is having more of a chance to get a good
job and providing for the future. When someone has a good education, they can get a job that
pays a higher income. People will have a stable life and not have to worry about what is going to
happen next. The person would feel good about themselves and not regret furthering their
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knowledge. By getting an education, the student can go into a field that they actually love.
Certain jobs require their employees to have a specialized degree which would put them in
school longer. Getting this degree would help the student in the future and guide them down the
path of success. Between 2000 and 2013, the unemployment rate for individuals without a
bachelor's degree was generally higher than the rate for their peers with at least a bachelor's
degree. This pattern was consistent for young adults (ages 2024), 25- to 34-year-olds, and 25- to
64-year-olds. In 2013, for example, the unemployment rate for young adults was 29.2 percent for
those who did not complete high school, 17.5 percent for those whose highest level of education
was high school completion, and 12.2 percent for those with some college education, compared
with an unemployment rate of 7.0 percent for those with at least a bachelor's degree( Fast
Facts). This means that people with a bachelors degree have a better chance of getting a job. As
a result, if you have an education it capable that you are going to get a good job.
The last major advantage is that educated people tend to be more respected by their peers
and other people around them. This is because people who have gone to school and have a
degree often know what they are talking about and are knowledgeable on different levels and can
engage in better conversation with others who share common interests. Americans believe that
people who have a college degree make better citizens. Last year, 33.5 percent of Americans
ages 25 to 29 had at least a bachelors degree, compared with 24.7 percent in 1995, according to
the National Center for Education Statistics. In 1975, the share was 21.9 percent. The number of
two-year college degrees, masters degrees and doctorates has also risen recently
(Rampell).This is because the future of America lies in the hands of young people. It is thought
that the better they are educated, the more success America will have in future circumstances,
like getting out of debt. Despite students often graduating with tens of thousands of dollars in
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student loan debt, this type of debt is actually considered good debt. Higher education increases
your earning potential in the workplace, allowing you to pay back student loans and continue
earning more( debt). As a result, if go to college and get a degree people think that you are
better than other people because you know what you are talking about.

In conclusion, education should be pursued more. Education could change the way
people look at things. It is still prospering and will continue to prosper for the years to come.
People are thankful for the chance to learn new things because it changes their lives for the
better. Furthering ones education and getting a degree should be a priority to more people of
America and even around the world.

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Work Cited

Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com, Web. 19 Apr. 2015.

"Fast Facts." Fast Facts. U.S. Department of Education Institute of Education Sciences National
Center for Education Statistics, Web. 19 Apr. 2015.

Hechinger, John. "U.S. High School Graduation Rate at Highest Since 1970s." Bloomberg.com.
Bloomberg, Web. 19 Apr. 2015.

Mortenson, Tom. "College Participation Rates: College-Going Rates of High School Graduates Directly from High School." HigherEdInfo.org: College-Going Rates of High School
Graduates. Web. 19 Apr. 2015.
Rampell, Catherine. "Data Reveal a Rise in College Degrees Among Americans." The New York
Times. The New York Times, 12 June 2013. Web. 10 May 2015.

"Student Loan Debt: Statistics, Solutions & Crisis Help." Debtorg News. Web. 19 May 2015.

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