The True Meaning of Education

By: Abegail Garcia

The

picture above is a proof of the “achievements” that I have acquired through the years in the

world of Education. I am a Senior High School graduate from the Philippines and an

incoming freshman with the course of Bachelor of Science in Accountancy this coming

school year which means that those certificates and medals are the ones that I have

received for fourteen years of studying (including Nursery and Kindergarten). It is heart-

fluttering that makes you so proud of yourself whenever you receive those, right? But let me

ask you one thing, are those certificates and medals what matter the most?
 Grades signify how well we do in school and rankings recognize how well we do

compared to others. It is the mentality of almost everyone and that was also once what I

thought. However, as years pass by, I tend to figure out the true meaning of education.

When I was in Grade School, I was awakened that education is the starting point of

the road to success and that having good grades means being successful. Why did I think

that way? It is because my parents made me believe in those words. Well, it wasn’t bad as

they are true in any way we look at it. That’s why I studied to have good grades. I

memorized terms, formulas, and any other academic related stuffs. As a result, I get good

grades. So, from then on, I always aspire for good grades for me to be successful and for

my parents to be happy. Not to brag, I was always on top (Top 1, 2 or 3 to be exact), was

always a representative of any academic-related competitions offered in school and was

always showered with congratulation cheers from the people around me. At that time, I felt

like I was successful but then my views in life became completely different when I went to

high school.

When I entered high school, the curriculum recalled the things that the students

learned from Grade School and I was surprised I only remember few. So, I asked myself

“How come I was always on top when I can’t remember what I’ve studied?” For a couple of

weeks, I figured out that the reason why I only remember a few is because I only

memorized things without understanding it. Since I have a short-term memory and my

memorization skills are not that good, it is not surprising that I completely forgot. Those
“few” that I remembered are mainly the things that I fully understood. That was the time I

realized that grades are not the basis of one’s learning. So, from that day on, I started to

understand things thoroughly and try to apply it in a real-life basis rather than just

memorizing it. That was also the time where I meet “competitive” students. Those students

who compete to be on top. In other words, to be the best and I don’t get the point why they

need to do that. I always use to say: “I compete with myself, not with others”. To elaborate it

further, I just compare myself to my old self versus the present one because that’s how I’ll

know if I progressed. That’s how I’ll be able to know how I would improve myself for me to

grow as the better version of me. What is the use of comparing yourself with others when

success starts in you? It will just lower your self-esteem, to be honest.

In fact, education is defined as “the process of facilitating learning, or the acquisition

of knowledge, skills, values, beliefs, and habits”. The process of facilitating learning or the

acquisition of knowledge, skills, values, beliefs, and habits, I repeat. Students like me

should realize the real purpose on why we are in school—and that is to learn for us to have

a great future. We should understand things and apply it in real-life rather than just

memorizing it. In that way, we would earn a significant amount of knowledge and good

grades at the same time. In fact, when it comes to the real world, grades is just a number. It

is just a bonus when you apply for a job. The skills, abilities, and the knowledge are still

what matter the most.