Tuesday, January 19, 2010

School is So Worth It

For many students, today is the first day of a new semester. Congratulations! You're halfway through this school year.

Today I want to remind everyone about what school does for you. I'm going to quote from one of my dad's old schoolbooks. The book is titled "Conduct and Citizenship" by Edwin C. Broome and Edwin W. Adams. It has a 1926 copyright by The MacMillan Company. On pages 46-47, it says:

"The business of the school is education. It is in order that we may receive an education that we attend school. If we think back over the first years of our school life in the light of the work we are now doing, we shall see that the school was giving us the tools which we are using. The lessons which we received in reading, writing, and numbers we have used constantly in our later school work. Once we have acquired the ability to use these tools, we are ready to go ahead with the real part of our education. In the course of the years we have learned many facts, but these are not especially important in themselves. The really important thing is that we have learned how to use our minds, how to study, how to think, how to live. This is the principal service which the school is rendering us today. This power will persist even after many of the facts have been forgotten. The school is helping us to develop the ability to use our brains."

Schools have changed drastically since 1926. I don't think they even offer courses in Conduct and Citizenship anymore. But the business of the school is still education. And the school is still helping students develop the ability to use their brains. And the school is still offering the tools students will use in the future.

So, as you start the new semester, keep these things in mind. The school is there for you, to give you an education, to give you tools you'll need, and to help you develop the ability to use your brain. Take advantage of it. Get the most out of your education. It will be so worth it!

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