Education Archives

Education must encompass more than critical thinking and originality. Comment.

In today’s knowledge based economy, what you earn equals what you have learned. Do you agree?

I. Introduction

Hook: As the global economy shifts towards valuing knowledge and skills, the correlation between education and earnings becomes increasingly significant.
Background: Brief overview of the knowledge-based economy and its emphasis on education and skills.
Thesis Statement: In today’s knowledge-based economy, earnings largely depend on one’s education and skills, but other factors such as socio-economic background, networking, and market demand also play crucial roles in determining income.

II. Supporting View 1: Education and Skills Directly Influence Earnings

Topic Sentence: Higher education and specialised skills directly correlate with higher earnings in the knowledge-based economy.
Example 1: In Germany, individuals with advanced degrees in STEM fields earn significantly higher salaries compared to those with only secondary education.
Example 2: In Singapore, the government’s focus on upskilling and continuous education has resulted in higher earnings for professionals in tech and finance sectors.
Analysis: Discuss how these examples demonstrate the clear link between education/skills and earning potential, supporting the argument that what you earn depends on what you have learned.

III. Supporting View 2: Demand for Knowledge and Expertise

Topic Sentence: The growing demand for specialised knowledge and expertise further emphasises the link between learning and earning.
Example 1: In South Korea, the tech industry’s rapid growth has created a high demand for skilled software developers, leading to lucrative salaries for those with the right qualifications.
Example 2: The biotechnology boom in Switzerland has resulted in high-paying jobs for individuals with specialised degrees in biotech and life sciences.
Analysis: Examine how these examples illustrate that industries prioritising knowledge and expertise reward individuals with relevant educational backgrounds and skills.

IV. Opposing View 1: Influence of Socio-Economic Background

Topic Sentence: Socio-economic background significantly affects earning potential, sometimes outweighing educational achievements.
Example 1: In India, socio-economic disparities mean that individuals from privileged backgrounds often have better access to quality education and job opportunities, leading to higher earnings regardless of their skills.
Example 2: In the United Kingdom, a report by the Sutton Trust indicates that individuals from affluent families often secure higher-paying jobs through connections and social capital, even if their academic achievements are not exceptional.
Analysis: Discuss how these examples show that socio-economic background can have a substantial impact on earnings, challenging the notion that income is solely dependent on education and skills.

V. Opposing View 2: Role of Networking and Market Demand

Topic Sentence: Networking and current market demand for certain professions also play crucial roles in determining earnings.
Example 1: In Japan, the tradition of lifelong employment with large corporations often means that networking and company loyalty can lead to higher earnings, sometimes more so than individual qualifications.
Example 2: The fluctuating demand in the gig economy, prevalent in many European countries, means that earnings can vary widely regardless of education, with market demand for certain skills dictating income levels.
Analysis: Explore how these factors demonstrate that while education is important, other elements such as networking and market dynamics also critically influence earning potential.

VI. Conclusion

Restate Thesis: While education and skills are crucial determinants of earnings in the knowledge-based economy, socio-economic background, networking, and market demand significantly influence income, suggesting a multifaceted relationship between learning and earning.
Summary of Key Points: Recap the main supporting and opposing views discussed.
Final Thought: Emphasise the importance of recognising and addressing the various factors influencing earnings to create a more equitable and meritocratic economic landscape.

Only educated people should have the right to vote in elections. What is your view?

The US Presidential election in 2016 shocked everyone. This was because a billionaire businessman who never held political office had been elected to the most powerful position in the world. Furthermore, his win stemmed from ethnic antagonism, strict immigration controls, sexism and hate mongering. Such results lead to the question: should only educated people have the right to vote? There are people who agree that only educated people should vote as they can make rational decisions. On the other hand, there are those who believe that voting should be accessible to all as everyone has their own set of beliefs. Agreeing with the latter view, it can be contended that everyone should have the right to vote regardless of education because equality in political decisions is necessary and helps us in identifying issues that are prevalent in the society.

Voting rights should not be limited to educated people as everyone’s vote counts. Voting has been an important democratic right. In a democracy every single vote is important because it represents the people. Voting right if given only an educated group means that we are ignoring the voices and opinions of thousands who are uneducated. In developed modern democracies people have the right to vote equally because votes are the collective beliefs and opinions of the populace. In countries like the United Kingdom and Singapore, voting rights have been endowed upon all of voting age. Thus, it is important that everyone is given equal rights to vote regardless of education because that is the true essence of democracy.

Those who argue that educated people should be the only ones to vote believe that they are politically literate. However, there is no truth in this argument. Though education is an important tool in giving us wider perspectives on various social subjects. However, just because a person is educated does not mean that he is politically knowledgeable. Even educated people find the subject of politics complicated and lack knowledge on political matters. On the contrary uneducated people are more likely to understand political matters than the educated people. This can be seen in countries like India where uneducated voters play an important role in the elections. The second issue lies with the ambiguousness of the term educated. Would a person from high school be considered educated enough to vote? In schools or colleges no one studies in-depth politics, thus it should not be a factor in allowing someone to vote. Therefore, education does not translate into political knowledge or awareness which means that everyone should have the right to vote in elections.

A true democracy allows all people to vote and brings forth the issues of social importance. Giving voting rights to only one group is a form of inequality. Voting rights given to all regardless of educational qualifications allows representation of all people and not just a selection of people. For example, despite controversial views of Trump on immigration and trade, Americans chose him because he spoke of issues that affected people from lower socio-economic backgrounds. His statements of restoring America to greatness struck a chord with many Americans that eventually led to him winning the elections. However, there are many opposed and still oppose the Trump administration. Democracy is the power due to which various political and social issues can come to the front. If only educated people are allowed to vote only issues affecting them will get highlighted and the uneducated will be completely disenfranchised. This can lead to conflict and tensions within the society and can also lead to prejudice and violence. Thus, it is important that everyone is allowed to vote regardless of educational background.

In conclusion, allowing only one group – the educated people – to vote than the uneducated people is discriminatory and should not be allowed. Favouring the educated over the uneducated goes against the basic tenets of democracy which asks for equality to be practiced. Voting should be allowed for all because it helps highlight the issues of all the groups involved and not just the elite. In a nutshell, allowing everyone to vote is a step in the right direction towards equality.

Higher education is no longer necessary for success. Discuss.

For a majority of people, higher education undoubtedly remains key to achieving success. Not only are degrees badges of acquired skill, they are sometimes even status symbols. In addition, the experience of going through higher education often proves to be greatly important if one seeks a successful career. Higher education still plays a vital role in the pathway to success.

It is easy to see why there has been increasing optimism of attaining success through means other than higher education. First, the rapid growth of online courses offered by Coursera and Phoenix University have led to the argument that the advent of the Internet has made it such that individuals no longer need higher education to obtain the skills they require for their jobs. Second, people often lament that despite obtaining degrees, they are unable to find work, and cannot pay off college debts they have accumulated. Third, mass media platforms have recently painted pictures of how individuals like Steve Jobs, Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg reached the very peak of what it means to be “successful”, without ever needing the support of higher education. This leads to the claim that higher education has lost its ability to deliver some measures of success. These three arguments present the case that higher education is no longer necessary for success.

However, it is overly assertive to claim that the skills that people learn from university education are irrelevant, even with the aid of the Internet. Instead, it is more reasonable to believe that higher education provides greater opportunities for learning. Though it may be possible to obtain the same access to information, it is only at universities that individuals of similar interests are able to gather in a classroom, exchange thoughts and ideas with each other, and learn under the tutelage of professors at the forefronts of their fields. Comparatively, those who do not attend higher education do not have that same opportunity to ask peers or professors for help when they run into problems understanding the content taught. Especially for specialised fields like biotechnology and law, the skills and knowledge necessary for the future remain largely accessible only to those who have undergone higher education. From this, it is clear that university graduates have greater propensity to gain skills and knowledge than non-graduates.

In addition, the university degree itself is a badge of acquired skill, reassuring employers that these employees have learnt the content, and are able to handle the work assigned to them. This means that graduates are more likely to be hired than non-graduates, which often translates into higher salaries. Furthermore, the trust that employers have in graduates’ ability to perform better often translates into greater financial remuneration. Today, bachelor’s degree holders can expect median lifetime earnings of about US$2.3 million, as compared to US$1.3 million for workers with just a high school diploma. Ultimately, higher education does in fact bring about greater financial success for graduates.

It is also fallacious to argue that higher education has stopped being a necessary part to being successful just because there have been exceptions to it. Not only were Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates intellectual geniuses and visionaries who had foreseen and grasped business opportunities, they were born into circumstances which ultimately facilitated their success. Courses offered at universities could not offer advice to these entrepreneurs embarking as pioneers of a new field. On the other hand, an overwhelming proportion of individuals do not enjoy the same kind of privilege, be it financial or intellectual. Hence, for most, the likely route to success is higher education, which sets them apart from other job applicants.

In fact, for most occupations excluding degree-blind jobs such as entrepreneurship and advertising, higher education plays an integral role in assimilating graduates into their future workplaces. Upon entering the workplace, university graduates depend upon the ties they had developed to help them along, and this often stems from their higher education experience. For example, specialists often depend on the referrals of other doctors to obtain a base of patients. In such a situation, getting to know others who are in the field is incredibly important for one’s career advancement prospects. Thus, higher education is not just about the content and skills involved, but also the relationships graduates develop with each other. The social advantage that higher education offers hence allows graduates to get a leg up over non-graduate.

In essence, higher education remains necessary for success. This is not to say that all graduates are necessarily more successful than all non-graduates, because of the multitude of factors involved. However, university graduates do indeed benefit greatly from higher education, a crucial factor contributing to being successful.