How can we make a difference if we're afraid to try and start?

by Alisha 

When I think of the important things in life, education is definitely on my top 10 list (other items include family, friends, eating amazing food, wonderful art, a good latte + book combo, and kittens to name a few). Someone recently told me that "choosing education is the safe option, there's no courage in that," I was highly offended. With constant budget cuts looming around every corner (check out the California State University budget cuts here), and the fear of future debts looming in my mind, I feel like education is anything but safe right now. As I look forward to my last year of undergrad, which includes grad school applications and taking the GRE on Monday, I’m constantly asking myself why I take education so seriously. 

For me, someone may be able to take away my job, my house, or my car, but no one can remove the knowledge that I possess. Education, traditional or otherwise, is often the basis for empowerment of both students and teachers. It's about taking risks and challenging yourself emotionally, spiritually, and intellectually. This allows you to expand your knowledge bank so you can better understand yourself and others. Education is a practice of liberation and freedom (for more on this theory check out Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paulo Freire).

One of my favorite education/feminist theorist, bell hooks states, “I think that part of what we connected to was a concern… with not just the academic work we were doing in the classroom, but how that academic works affects us beyond the classroom” (Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom, p. 134) . As I reflect on my academic career, it's becoming more and more apparent that my studies are consistently interlaced with my "real world" life. Experience allows me to retain knowledge in a more thorough way than reading out of a book. My most effective teachers have been those who have made connections between personal and classroom experiences, not to mention what I’ve learned outside of the traditional classroom setting. 

So, my question is why is school so darn expensive? Why am I forced to be afraid of continuing my education because of the debt and lack of job security in my future? As Congress works on this new budget deal, what are they doing to screw over our students? Check out this article on Fosters Daily for more info.  

I always hear that this next generation is the only hope for our future, but how can we make a difference if we're afraid to try and start?