Madeline+O’s+Final+AmEx+2014+Speech

=Title of Speech=

The Value of Education =Text of Speech= A common complaint in a math class is “when will I ever use this?” By the time you get to pre-calculus, teachers have run out of those ridiculous word problems that are supposed to convince us of the importance of math in everyday life. We now get the honest answer of, “you’re never going to use this outside of a math classroom.” To many, this translates into math is a waste of time, but I have a hard time agreeing with that. I’m not taking math because I expect to use it every day for the rest of my life. I take math because I like learning math, just like I like learning history, English, and physiology. The pursuit of knowledge is something that I believe to be very important, no matter what the subject is. It’s not the actual material of a class that is important, so much as just the opportunity to stretch your mind that school provides us with. 20 years from now, it’s not going to matter if you know where the trochlea is, or the difference between metonymy and synecdoche. What will matter is if you are able to solve problems, develop opinions, and just think for yourself. School is important because it creates educated individuals who know how the world works and how to contribute to it. Our classes allow us to think, to stretch our minds. This opportunity to build our base of knowledge is very valuable, yet so many students seem to overlook the true value of the education we are receiving. Many students view their classes as sort of a means to an end. They take honors and AP classes because that is what you are supposed to do to get into the college that you are supposed to go to, but they could care less about the actual class, besides the grade boost it gives them. As a result, they slack off, put their homework off until the last minute, and then will do anything necessary to get an A. I understand, sometimes it’s difficult to put your full effort into each class when the teachers are all assigning hours of homework each night. But while we’re stressing out over whatever test we have the next day, we need to try to look at the bigger picture. The sole purpose of school isn’t just to get good grades. It’s the path that one follows that matters. This path can be followed in two ways: with the end goal of getting an A, or with the end goal of learning and expanding one’s mind. Getting good grades is obviously important, but it’s not the only reason why we come to school. It’s time for students to value learning for the sake of learning. Those that complain about school being a waste of time miss the point. Yes, we learn a great deal of material that probably will turn out to not be useful at all after we’re done with school, but there is a higher purpose to going through the torture of six hours of school plus all the time we spend on homework each night. The education we receive in school molds us into educated individuals and functioning members of society. Although not every class you take in high school will directly apply to your future career path, each class builds the skills that will be necessary throughout your life. It doesn’t really matter if you know how to take the derivative of a logarithmic function. What does matter is if you know how to analyze a problem and produce a solution. Education creates intelligent and knowledgeable individuals, but you only get out of it what you put in. If you go into school with the purpose of increasing your knowledge and not just your GPA, then the benefits you receive will be much greater and long lasting than just seeing your name on the list of Renaissance students. And honestly, it seems like a waste of time to me to go to school just so that you can get a four-point-something GPA printed on a piece of paper. The goal should be to gain knowledge, not just gain a nice looking transcript. It’s hard to believe, but a time in our lives will come when our high school GPAs no longer matter. What will matter is the knowledge and intelligence you possess, and how you apply it. Good grades might get you into college, but to survive in the real world you are going to need something more. The purpose of education is not just to learn, but to become. Education helps us become better people, people that can think, solve problems, work together, and relate to others, but in order for this to happen, you have to make an active effort in your education, rather than just going through the motions. We are all extremely lucky to be sitting in this room right now. We have the privilege of attending a high ranking school with excellent teachers that actually care about their job. There are so many kids around the world that would give anything to receive the education we so easily take for granted. The educational opportunities we have should not be wasted. Our generation is going to be running the country eventually. Our parents will retire, and it will be our turn to be the doctors and lawyers, or scientists and politicians. Pretty soon it’s going to be our turn, and we better not mess it up. Someone sitting in this room right now could be our president one day, and I don’t want a president that copied their math homework every day or Sparknoted the entire novel they were supposed to read for English class because they spent their whole night on Tumblr. I want a president that appreciates education and knowledge, and as a result is an intelligent and competent leader. In the America that I grow old in I want to see students that value their education and take an active role in pursuing it. I want to see students that take advantage of the learning opportunities they have. I want to see less copying of chapter packets during lunch and more of a desire to actually understand what you are learning. I want to see students value the pursuit of knowledge over the pursuit of an A. Education is a process. The skills that we acquire throughout our schooling, not the grades we earn, are what will make us great people. Shortcuts can be taken in order to receive an A, but the path towards knowledge must be travelled with integrity. I hope to see more students take the path towards knowledge, so that when it is our turn to lead this country, we will be successful.

=Cite Your Sources=