Summative Assessment 1 – Idea Development and Argument Proposal

Surname, First Caguiat, Gabrielle Jon Student Number 2020047271

Name Emmanuelle Ramos
Section 12 Semester/School 1st / Year 2
Year

Why Education is Important

“Education is important”, that is what my parents would always tell me
whenever I would feel tired to do my homework. They would always tell me that
“Education is the very foundation of every Nation.”, but as a young child, I did not
have the adequate comprehensive skills to understand their point. Thus, I still felt hate
and bored towards studying even with their words of encouragement. But as I grew
up, I was exposed to various issues and situation that made me understand the
importance of education. That Education is indeed important, and that every nation
has this as its foundation. So, what is Education really? And why do we need it?

Education is often associated with the systematic teaching and learning

method that often happen in school or an institution. But Education is not always so
formal and institutionalized. Education is a process of teaching and learning of values
and accumulated knowledge of a society (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2021). Meaning
education is anything that is concerned with the matter of learning and teaching. May
it be formal and informal. Hence, from the moment we are born, we are constantly
being Educated by our environment.

In the simplest idea. Education is important for this is where and how we
learn. Every day, we are taught, and we learn new things, therefore, we are being
educated every day. Or our daily life is full of continuous learning. And according to
Bhardwaj (2016) “Education is an important human virtue, a necessity of society,
basis of good life, and a sign of freedom.” Meaning it is a necessity that helps in
creating a healthy and functional society. For an individual, Education is important for
this is how we learn how to be independent and how to be an individual. It helps us in
establishing our role in the society. Bhardwaj added that for a separate entity to fully
Integrate, they must first be Educated. But how?? If they are separated, how can they
integrate?
 Let’s look into the situation of the LGBTQ+ people. In the Philippines, there
are lot of people that belongs to the LGBT community. They could be Lesbian, Gay,
Bisexual, Transgender, and other Gender Fluid Identity. Due to this fact, the people
that belong to this community often encounter and experience discrimination and
violence. Or in simpler terms, they are discriminated for being different. This
discrimination becomes detrimental to their livelihood.

According to a report presented in the conference titled Philippine National

LGBT Community Dialogue that was held in Manila on 29th-30th of June in 2013, the
reasons why LGBT people constantly faces challenges is due to that lack of laws and
organizations that will support and protect their Humans Rights, but the primary
reason is due to the “lack of understanding within the LGBT community about SOGI
concepts, and a lack of unity due in part because of class differences.” Meaning the
cause of the discrimination is the lack of education and awareness on what are the
LGBT people and what they are fighting for within their own community and outside
of their community, which what causes the divide of the society.

The lack of education has let stigma prevail or persist in the society which
what really starts discrimination. Which is why, in their recommendation to combat
the challenges LGBT people faced, they included Education. Where it is stated and
explained that Education in the formal and non-formal setting must be reviewed and
re-structured in a way that will allow the development of awareness towards the
LGBT community and their people to happen. This awareness will open an array of
opportunity for people to understand the minorities and people who faced
discrimination due to social differences and gender. And this where the idea of
Bhardwaj comes in, to fully integrate the livelihood of the LGBT people in the
society, we must first understand what makes them different and what they’re beliefs
are, this is to establish respect and civility that will let peace rein. This concept is also
applicable in any discrimination existing due to differences in social class, religion,
ethnicity, etc. since education builds one’s character as formal and non-formal
education let our mind be constantly exposed to an array of perceptions and thoughts
processes on an issue and belief that exist in the real world.

But Discrimination and Inequality is not the only issues that could be solved
by Education. Corruption and Political Issue could also be included in it. According to
Vanetik (2019) Politics and Education are constantly linked together, for one of the
mission of institutions that facilitates formal education is to encourage and inspire
student to actively participate in societal issues, specifically political issues that will
enhance their ability in showcasing their civic responsibility. Classrooms that
encourage a healthy debate and discussion about politics allows students to voice out
and create an opinion on a political matter that concerns the country/society. And this
creates an environment that is politically and socially aware on current issues.

Based on what we can observe on the current political situation in the

Philippines, students are actively participating in political issues, and this might be
due to the continuous development and growth of internet and social media platforms,
where information are readily available and accessible. However, primary reason for
such events is due to various institutions actively voicing out their support and
opinion on political issues that could/could not influence at how the student will
perceive the issue. Like how the Adamson University Lighting up their building pink
as a sign of support to presidential candidate, which is the current vice president, Leni
Robredo. And how other Catholic Universities followed suit, such as University of
Santo Thomas, Ateneo de Manila, and De La Salle University (Calleja, 2021).

This movement of universities could affect at how their student will view the
current situation in the incoming Presidential Election 2022. Adding to these is my
experience in Far Eastern University – Manila. For a year that I have been studying, I
was exposed and made aware of the importance of performing my civic
responsibilities. Activities and Assessments such as creating an essay that focuses on
the importance of participating and performing civic responsibilities helps in making
so. Whenever I would attend GED courses, teachers would always encourage and
remind us student to register for the incoming election and would always tell us that
our votes matter. And that occurrences influenced my eagerness on participating in
the incoming election.

But not everyone has the privilege to access such education. Looking back to
the article of Vanetik (2019), it was stated that \ socio-economic status of students
play an important role on the amount of Education students receives and their
respective political attitudes. Meaning, as students from poorer families is more
concerned on how they are going to get by for the incoming days, they are unable to
give an adequate time to spend on education and politics. Add this to the fact that
Advance educational opportunities are primarily in private institutions that has a high
tuition and requirements, that is majorly attainable by the privilege or wealthy people.
Which also becomes an obstacle for the underprivilege students. And although
institutions and organizations provide students an opportunity via scholarship, it goes
back to the reality that underprivileged students do not have an adequate time and
resources to access primary education, which inhibits them from building their
credentials into something acceptable by the institutions that provides scholarships.

The point of everything that I have said so far is that Education Matters.
Because it facilitates growth of an individual and society. Education makes us a Better
Citizen and Human being. Thus, it is important to continuously develop education.
Because as time progress, knowledge and information changes, or some new stuff
emerge. With this, society needs to ensure that Education keep up with these changes,
to accommodate the fast-paced changing of society and people, while being accessible
to all. Because as what my parents have said, education is the foundation of every
nation. Remember that all world leaders such as presidents, teachers, Scientist, etc.
are former students. That before they became an established/prominent figure in the
world, they have sought for advice and received knowledge from their teachers,
institutions, and environment. Therefore, developing Education into something that is
accessible for all and accommodates and facilitates the growth of the society is
important, as it helps people be socially and politically aware, and that aids them in
participating is Social and Political Issues/Problems that needs to be discussed to fix.
And it is important to do so, as this will aid people in molding a world that is safe and
peaceful to live in for all.
References:

Bhardwaj, A. (2016). Importance of Education in Human Life: a Holistic Approach.

International Journal of Science and Consciousness; 2(2): 23- 28.

Calleja, J. P. (2021, October 8). Catholic universities rally behind Philippine VP.
Union of Catholic Asian News. https://www.ucanews.com/news/catholic-
universities-rally-behind-philippine-vp/94462

Swink, R. Lee , Scanlon, . David G. , Huq, . Muhammad Shamsul , Naka, . Arata ,

Ipfling, . Heinz-Jürgen , Vázquez, . Josefina Zoraida , Lauwerys, . Joseph
Albert , Graham, . Hugh F. , Anweiler, . Oskar , Arnove, . Robert F. , Meyer, .
Adolphe Erich , Gelpi, . Ettore , Chen, . Theodore Hsi-en , Lawson, . Robert
Frederic , Bowen, . James , Marrou, . Henri-Irénée , Thomas, . R. Murray ,
Chambliss, . J.J. , Browning, . Robert , Moumouni, . Abdou , Mukerji, . S.N. ,
Riché, . Pierre , Shimahara, . Nobuo , Szyliowicz, . Joseph S. and Nakosteen, .
Mehdi K. (2021, May 1). Education. Encyclopedia Britannica.
https://www.britannica.com/topic/education

UNDP, USAID (2014). Being LGBT in Asia: The Philippines Country Report.
Bangkok. https://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PBAAA888.pdf

Vanetik, Y. (2019, May 20). What is the relationship between politics & education?
Yuri Vanetik | Orange County, California | Yuri Vanetik is an Entrepreneur,
Business Expert, & Managing Director of Vanetik International, LLC.
https://yurivanetik.net/relationship-politics-education/