Power of Knowledge in Education

"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world," said Nelson Mandela. Saying this, Nelson Mandela emphasizes the importance of education in enabling a person to succeed and change the world, just as he did. Still, the question of what education should focus on remains. Historically, academic knowledge has been the forerunner of educational standards. Though some might question that standard, stating that the sharing of culture is more important in education. With education being such a powerful weapon, it needs to primarily focus on academic knowledge rather than culture.

Throughout history, it has been shown that those who are most educated are higher in the social hierarchy and more respected. For example, in Ancient India, those who were a part of the academic class were considered the highest in the social class, more than even warriors and kings. While a social class hierarchy may be questionable, India has produced many great scholars and advancements academically, such as the mathematician Aryabhata, who is most famous for using zero as a place holder. Gaining respect through education allows people to gain more opportunities and chances that they might not get if they are not highly educated. Showing why prioritizing academic knowledge in education is more important than culture.

With the ability to gain respect through education, many people strive for it. This causes them to be able to create new technology and innovations that help the world. One place where it is seen is in Marie Curie's findings of radiation. At the time, women were not treated well, as most of the time they were relegated to just being a housewife, which resulted in them not being able to have the same education as men. So, to challenge this ideal, Marie set out to gain respect from education, as she saw it was one of the only ways to do so, and in the end, she succeeded. She was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize and the first person to win two. 

With her achievements, she paved the way for future innovations such as X-rays and other medical imaging technologies that are essential in hospitals today. This is just one example of how education can lead to technological innovations, as many others have done the same, such as: Alexander Fleming, creator of antibiotics; Alexander Graham Bell, creator of the telephone; and the Wright Brothers, creators of the airplane. After looking at these examples, it is clear that academic knowledge sets culture and morals, which is why it should be prioritized over them in education.

Even though academic knowledge in education is able to provide people with opportunities and ways to change the world, which couldn’t be done with culture, people still argue that culture should be prioritized more in education. With this ideology, they will say that cultural education allows for the preservation of heritage and identity, something cultural education alone can not. 

Though the issue with this is that cultural education usually happens in houses, and if this happens in education, it might cause uniformity, while also not allowing for differences in ideals. While also not allowing for the options that the cultural education in houses allows for. This is why cultural education should not be the primary focus in education, but academic knowledge should be. 

Nelson Mandela’s words, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world, are indeed valuable.”It lets us see that the focus of academic knowledge in education is better than focusing on morals and culture. Since academic education empowers people to solve problems and innovate on a global level. Whereas morals or culture vary greatly between different communities, academic knowledge is the same world, giving everyone equal opportunities to grow. So, by prioritizing academics, we open doors to people who can contribute to the world, while also not forcing an identity onto societies and in the process ruining theirs. Therefore, academic education has the most power to allow for positive change, which creates a better future for everyone.