Happiness and Education

Omadai Rajahlall
ENG 101
Dr. McCorminck
3rd October, 2010
Blog # 2
What is education? Why do we believe that education would make us happier? Education is the key to a successful life, and it gives us a clear heads up for a meaningful life and future. Therefore, this is the reason why people want to earn a degree, so they would be able to accomplish these goals in their life which would make them happier. For instance, whenever you asked someone why they chose to do certain things in their lives, the most famous answer you’re going to get is “because it makes me happy”. No matter what the situation is on this earth, everyone would need and want a job. Education is one of the main guidance to a happier future and a better job. According to an article entitled “Happiness in Education” by Author Mark Van Doren, our best chance for happiness is in education. Doren also states some more important facts about happiness in education which I fully agree and support because of my personal opinions and experiences in my life. In addition, a video by Sir Ken Robinson, who is an Author and a professor of Arts Education, had caught my attention about creativity and education. The article by Doren and the video by Ken Robinson had made me thought about how much happier I am with my education presently, and how I would be in the future. My greatest goal besides having children is to become a nurse.
Doren states “Educators who Support Children in the pursuit of the things that are important to them and, who help children attain flow experiences cultivate this innate love of learning”. Meaning, when having goals, having a clear sense of purpose is necessary when attaining flow. This is a perfect description of what I’m currently experiencing. The support from my parents, teachers and friends has been nothing more but an inspiration and motivation to never give up on my dream job. Unlike some of the influence which I had encountered from people, stating that I can’t get into nursing because it’s very difficult, and I won’t be able to complete. However, my study in nursing has been an extraordinary experience so far, it’s like a hobby for me. Whenever, I read about nursing and hospital or watch television about them I would picture myself in those situations when they are helping and saving people lives. Studying this major may be a difficult journey sometimes, but at the same time I enjoyed and have a lot of interest in it. If I try to picture myself into another field of study, I just know that I would be very uncomfortable because it’s really not what I wanted to do. Achieving a degree in nursing would only bring me joy, happiness and pleasure, and that is exactly what I want. I would be very proud of myself every time I helped a sick or badly injured person, all because I would have the knowledge and ability to do it. It is one of my greatest interests to help people and I think this is a good chance for me. In addition, the challenges and struggles of working and college have given me the opportunities of becoming someone better in the future. It gives me the feeling of independent and being responsible and confidence which prepares me for a good future. Also, it’s a key to a great support for accomplishing my goals, because in the future I will have to handle the challenges, difficulties and struggles by myself.
I have many reasons of my own of how education can make me happier. One of the most important reasons why I believed education would make me happier is, making a difference and proves to be someone better than what people might think. For instance, many people from the society I grew up in believed that men should be the only bread winner. This is a perfect opportunity for me to prove that it doesn’t have to be this way. Two people who are providing together in a family would offer nothing but more support, money and happiness in a home. I know that many people agree with me and that my parents are very proud of me and this makes me feel very happy. I believe that people gained more respect by being educated and people tend to show more respect towards an educated person. Education plays an important form of motivation for a better job and future. It is much easier to find a job with a degree. It gives us the opportunities towards a wider range of choice of becoming employed. A typical example is, when applying for a job an employer would prefer employed a college graduate rather than a non-college graduate. If a company is hiring with more than one position, they would offer the best position to someone with a degree and a better salary. Besides, if I get fired from a job, with a degree it would not be very stressful because I know that I can easily find another job. In fact I would be relief knowing that I have a degree as a backup plan. Unlike someone without a college degree would face a very difficult time, when searching another job. Education helps an individual to become more knowledgeable, wiser, skillful and creative in their present life and for the future. A matter of fact, Sir Ken Robinson states, “Creativity now is as Important in Education as in Literacy.” This is indeed true and I could agree more. Creativity is very important because it proves us of how brilliant we can be, think and have ideas. In reality the creations of technology like, computers, phones, vehicles, etc, has brought us nothing more but happiness, and have made our lives a lot easier. Education is one of the main reasons for such creativity. It guides us towards a better chance of clearer thinking and ideas.
Not only would education be beneficial to me but also the community to make it a better place. The world or community would become a more prosperous, progressive, better and successful place. It will also bring happiness to employers because they will have very smart and knowledgeable people working for them. In addition, I believed education would be a great inspiration for my children in the future. They would have the inspiration to follow their parent footsteps. Also, I’m sure most people who watch the video by Sir Ken and reads the article would agree on their points. There is no dough that whenever these Authors looked back at their work, they feel really proud and happy about themselves. That’s exactly how I would like to be whenever I graduate with my degree in nursing.