This page was last updated on [12/10/99].

"The Key to Success"

Yvonne's Essay

[b. 12/05/99]

Yvonne Tom, College of San Mateo

"Eduation is the key to success." This is a quote that has too often been reiterated from parent to child for generations. In a society where the number of college degrees is representative of one's achievement and success for the future, it is no wonder that Asian parents, especially, emphasize the importance of classroom-based education for their children. Ingrained with the idea that traditional institutionalized education is the formula for success, it is hard to succumb to a more revolutionary idea. True education, rather than memorizing tedious formulas, and absorbing someone else's version of history, should be a continuous development of the mind in which we learn to know, and think for ourselves.

Asians put an immense amount of value on education. In the United States, struggling against the ugly discrimination policies directed against them, Asian groups like the Chinese and the Japanese fought long and hard, whether it be through the court system or appealing indirectly to the United States government, so that their children would have the opportunity to attend American schools. Even Today, Asian countries such as China, Japan, Taiwan and Korea pride themselves on having of the most rigorous schooling systems in the world. However, it seems as if we are underscoring the wrong facet of education. We must understand that institutionalized education is just that institutionalized. Education within the walls of a classroom has become a calculated process in which simple memorization skills are only tools necessary to earn an "A" in a class.

Education, without a doubt plays a monumental role in the development of every person. However, we must be able to distinguish between education, which is purely the repetition of facts, and education, which encourages thought process and the utilization of the mind. "If you teach a man to cook a fish, he will have enough to eat for the night, but if you teach him how to catch fish, he will have enough to eat for the rest of his life," goes a proverb. Education is useless unless it teaches us to think independently and to act in accordance with certain social situations. Education is learning to understand, to achieve enlightenment, and to be able to apply what we are taught to our everyday lives.

As Asians, we have all disillusioned ourselves into thinking that the true education is graduation from prestigious four-year universities such as Cal-Berkeley and Stanford. Instead of being preoccupied with what schools we attend, we have to re-focus our emphasis on learning aspect of education. We need to understand that education is learning to think, learning to live, and learning to understand ourselves, because in essence, the mind is futile unless we know how to utilize it.

Permission granted by Yvonne Tom to published her essay on the World Wide Web.