Education is one of the main investments in our culture. Countries invest in schools, parents often do the homework tegether with kids, tutors are highered for the hard subjects, then we assume huge debts for the academic degree, and spend a lot of our time in the university for the advanced degree. This sort of investment is open for the middle class and the priveledged. Less fortunate need the help of volunteers with open hearts and a deep desire to make the world better. I asked Kaya Johnson to write a guest article about how we can improve the education by investing in the future of our children.
Education can make a huge difference for a country in all the important aspects regarding their development. Not only that an educated population will generate the proper conditions for better living, health services, financial stability and even security, but having a good educational system set-up can change everything in our children future development. There are millions of undereducated children around the world and the consequence is that they are simply being denied a fair start in their life. Apart from government interest and effort to improve access to education, one very important aspect that is generally not fully exploited is volunteering. It does not need much to become pessimistic about our children future and seems like the more our society evolves the more superficial the educational process. One of the best methods to make a difference is taking action and sign up for volunteering in public schools. Playing a direct role will not only benefit your community but your children as well by setting up a good example of social involvement.
Why Should One Volunteer
For instance, there are numerous public schools that are both underfunded and generally understaffed and the contribution of the community members’ could definitely make a difference. Besides the obvious reason of having a closer experience of what your children’s educational system is offering them, you will have the opportunity of playing a direct influence on that system by sharing and infusing the love of reading on the young scholar or young student helping them navigate through the studying experience. Assisting teachers in busy classrooms is also a good reason for sharing more attention to a volunteering program and get involved in the educational process, whatever your abilities or experiences. There are no side effects in attending volunteering hours and your presence and interaction will only have a good influence on your community, the educational system of which your children are an important part and on your self-esteem and respect.
Five Reasons Why Volunteering Makes A Difference
1. You can have an important contribution to improving the process
Volunteering to assist children in their daily activities like learning to read, developing math skills or learning a new language you will be playing a part in encouraging your community to maintain good educational standards and why not become better skilled. Your very simple presence will make a difference as studies are showing that the higher the presence of adults in a given community the higher are the possibilities for children to succeed in their lives. Looks like the adult to youth ratio has also an essential impact on children leaving school and just 1% increase of adults presence in a given community is compensated with 1% decrease of the dropping out of school rate. Moreover, it is also proven that children tend to be inspirited by their mentors especially if the social situation at home and the growing up the environment is challenging or not that challenging in terms of educational interest. This is why people that benefit from a higher education are more likely to give back to the community that has raised them and become themselves, future volunteers. So setting up a good example will not go unnoticed.
2. It is an activity that can be fitted to your schedule
Getting involved in the educational process does not mean to give up other activities or overworking your schedule. Even just one hour a day spent among children will be appreciated and a few hours a week will go long way. You can spend that time as a tutor, mentoring your children or just assisting classrooms. Heading to school before starting your working program, during lunch break or after work, volunteering can be included even in a busy schedule. Time spent with children or young adults will ease your work day as well and give you an escape from your everyday routine.
3. There is more than one way to support
Instructing classes up to thirty or more children is challenging even for the best-skilled professor. And the volunteers’ requests are sustained by a real need for taking action. There is more than one way to support teachers in their activity from understanding what scholar need’s furthermore supporting with assignments, providing them guidance in a classroom project or helping them get prepared for other types of activities. Maybe the most important activity could be tutoring one-on-one students that need extra guidance.
4. How does make you feel
The correlation between volunteering and the benefits of your mind-body system has also been studied and there is no doubt about the positive effect. It will make you feel involved and connected with your community, useful for others and less stressed. Working with children brings joy to your life and will surely have a great impact on the relationship with your children. Stopping to worry about your problems and focusing on others activities decreases the stress level, gives you sense of purpose and a higher confidence level that, along with good positive emotions, have a strengthening effect on your immune system.
5. Passing your skills to future generations
Dedicating time in schools as a volunteer translates also in supporting children learn important skills that you, as an adult, are mastering such as problem-solving skills, teamwork and leadership, social interaction abilities and creativity. Along with academic studying, this out of the classroom abilities will help children and young adults stepping ahead in their life more prepared. Meanwhile, you as well will develop new skills that are useful in taking the relationship with your own children to another level. In addition, maybe the essential aspect is that you have the possibility to model the character traits of future generations.
Personal Time And Effort Investment
It is true that with busy lives and schedules to follow, time is precious for anyone and could be hard to find extra time for volunteering and make additional efforts. However, the huge benefit of volunteering to you, your family and the community that you are living it is priceless for all the above-mentioned reasons. When it comes to investing our time and effort in school activities, we are actually helping our children to become more responsible as well as caring but, even more important, become better versions of ourselves. Passion and a good positive attitude are the only requirements for finding the time and making these activities look effortless. There are so many important abstract social skills as well as handicraft skills that will go extinct and next generations will lose in front of technology development and scientific breakouts and having the ability to develop human characteristics like compassion, social interaction, and involvement, altruism, and confidence will make a difference.
How Do Government Investment Programs Can Help
Scientists and researchers agree that you get a higher return if you invest in the early stages of education. Some of them even say that the possibility of equalizing chances and opportunities as well as achievements is higher. But a question is raised: is it possible to have this theory transformed into reality? And if it is possible how it could be implemented in different types of financially structured countries? Researchers also reached the conclusion that if the percentage of low-educated people is minimized, then the whole society will be benefit from this situation. Inadequate education, on the other hand, is proven to be leading to a large variety of social disagreements and justice issues.
Education should begin with focusing on creating good schools ready for producing the best pedagogues and teachers in order to spread the teaching web across the children of the society. Healthy mechanisms should be developed and implemented in kindergartens, schools, high schools and colleges in order to sustain growth and better living conditions for the next generations and the state itself. But education is not all about being the best of the best, is also about what does the society need and involving more and more people is a task for creating more volunteering programs in order to balance the teachers to students ratio and decrease the dropping school percentage.
Bottom Line
Education is different from country to country and especially from a continent to another. There are many volunteering programs that are aimed at undeveloped countries assistance. In every country, the educational system needs to be improved and adjusted to a post-industrial era as well as to the local needs in order to speed-up demographic changes. Education is the key to assuring the next generation fundamental rights and a proper development. The connection between the required social mobility and learning is not to be overlooked and when it comes to model systems learning from each other can be very useful. Some across the Globe successful educational programs, like the Finnish model, are to be studied and applied to local realities. There is one aspect that had been left aside lately and that by getting involved in education you can be able to transmit: diligence cultivation.
While the school system is responsible to work out an academic preparation and deliver a process of certification the social inclusion skills are and should be strongly developed at home in the early years but carried on to the studying process. Creating future adults that become the people that society and economy needs is, in part the educational system’s job and in part parent’s job. The challenge is to follow through this developmental process and not to stop when your children go to school. All people should realize that being involved first in education and developing good human capital is priceless and that all the time and effort invested will eventually pay off.
Bio
Kaya Johnson is a sales accountant from Yorkshire. Though not a professional writer, she compensates by deep research and true interest to the subjects of her articles.
