Is School and Education the Only Route to Success?
School and education have long been the traditional route in society. However, as the times continue, it is becoming more prevalent and necessary to have a school education than ever before. The struggle of living off a job without an education and the emphasis on its uses to be able to survive have become increasingly widespread. However, with this rise in the emphasis of its importance, is education and school still the only and necessary route to succeed? Considering our circumstances currently in society, the path that education and school is going on seems only more unnecessary and absolutely essential to one’s success. Thus, it can be said that education and school are the only pathway to success as it provides more opportunities for an individual, gives a person more credibility to others, and helps shape our knowledge, personality, and how to react to the world around us.
One thing that is for certain is that school and education is meant to produce more productive citizens to society. An education gives us the ability to form our own knowledge and personality while also learning to properly be ready or react to the world around us. “Twenty years after my own graduation, I have come gradually to understand that the liberal arts cliche about teaching you how to think is actually shorthand for a much deeper, more serious idea: learning how to think really means learning how to exercise some control over how and what you think” (pg. 3). Although many people from younger generations do not see this until they are a lot older, education is so crucial to not only a degree to be able to land a good job, but to also help someone navigate through life. ¨´Give her the time in Ed Bankyś goddm car?´ My voice was shaking something awful. My voice was shaking something awful. ´What a thing to say. Want me to wash your mouth out with soap?´¨ (pg. 43). In Holden´s case, we can see how his poor or lack of education has led him to deal in certain situations. The importance of education is undeniable and clearly helps shape our thinking and brain for the better in life.
The goal of school and education is to make us more productive, and socially acceptable citizens for life and society. Naturally, this leads to some other helpful consequences as well. Logically, one of the advantages to this is that education will provide more opportunities for an individual in life whether that be a rise in social standing, the ability to live a more comfortable life, or get a good job. “The last time I’d eaten was those two hamburgers I had with brossard and Ackley when we went into Agerstown to the movies. That was a long time ago” (pg. 105). At this point, Holden is left with barely any choices and is forced to starve. With more opportunities, such as with an education, Holden could have been able to provide better for himself and live a much more comfortable lifestyle never worrying about where his next meal will come from. “So I opened my suitcases and took out a clean shirt, and then I went in the bathroom and washed and changed my shirt” (pg. 66). Here, Holden is yet again struggling in his current conditions due to the lack of opportunity to be able to achieve anything else or live above any means than at the present time. He is forced to live this way. With this in mind, without school, there are just so few opportunities for Holden and most people. Often leaving education behind, it is so hard for anyone to leave a desperate and unpleasant situation like Holden´s.
Some may say that education is unnecessary and one can also succeed without it. However, the odds of that happening are unbelievably low and one cannot expect to take the chance to get this lucky. It takes an imaginable stroke of luck. Since it takes a lot of luck without education, someone who ends up failing and getting unlucky would have nothing to fall back on and their life would be over. Based upon my experiences, from all the relatives around me, the ones that end up finding the most success are most often the ones with the highest education such as my parents with bachelors over a relative without one. They often struggle a lot and have to constantly ask my parents for help. No matter what, a person with an education will always have an edge over another person without education and with the rising amount of people with an education, it is even or necessary to get an education to be able to compete for survival amongst the growing educated base.
With everything considered, school and education are of utmost necessity providing undeniable advantages that one needs to have to help prepare for success in life.
School and education allows for the two primary traits of more knowledge to shape our thinking in preparation for the real world and the massive opportunities that are given to people over others without education. Thus, school is considerable in preparing someone for life and is just incredibly useful to the point of being behind if someone chooses to abandon it for other ways of success. Although, anyone may say that education is not necessary, the fact is that a person with an education will always naturally be provided with more opportunities than a person without. A better life will always need an education unless a person wants to chance it. Imagine the life of someone with an education versus someone without an education. What life would you choose?