Abigail Skinner
Mrs. Schaub
English 2
Author's Abstract
25 April 2013
The Power to Educate
The Purpose
I often think about how lucky we are, as Americans, to get a completely free education, starting
when we're 4 or 5 years old and continuing on until we're 18. We learn to read and write, we develop
social and communication skills. It's an essential part of growing up and becoming an adult in the
United States. Then, I think about how not everyone in the world has such fortune. So many people,
grown adults and children alike, don't know how to read, don't know how to write, all because their
country can't afford to build schools. I really feel for those people because I know how important
learning is to me, and I want everyone to get a chance to experience that. With this project, I hope to
shed some light on the people who want an education but can't afford one. I want to learn how we
can help these people, what we can do to make a difference in their lives. My intended audience for
this report is my English 2 teacher, Mrs. Schaub.
The Problem with Power
According to the website Globle Foundation, "Education is proven to be an essential factor for
successful social and economical development." Perhaps this is the reason why so many African
countries don't have the means with which to build schools; because so much of the population
is without education. But, I believe we have the power to change that. Believe it or not, there are
over 2 billion children who are not receiving a proper education. (Clifford) Clifford says, "Of those
who do receive an education, mostly in the developing world, one in five will not make it past the fifth
grade." The problem is, if fully developed countries, like the United States, could focus more time and
money on these countries that are suffering, most, if not all, of these children could get the education
they deserve. Logically, "If a large majority of a countries children are not educated, the prospect of the
future business, political, religious and government leaders of is marred for many generations."
(Clifford) Picture this: a sixteen year old girl living in Africa amidst a very poor family and city. She
wants more than anything to be able to go to college someday, to become a lawyer...but she can't. She
does not know how to read or write, she hardly speaks English. Her parents can't afford to send her
away to an American school. She wants this different life for herself but she's completely helpless.
Wouldn't you do something to change this girl's fate if you could? I truly think we have the power to do
something about this.We just need to make others see how important it really is.
The Process
I chose this topic because education is one of the most important and relevant things of today's
society. It's crucial if you ever want to be successful or have a good job. It may not seem like it, but
there are millions of people in the world who can't afford an education, some of which might go
their whole lives never knowing how to read or write. I want something to be done about this because
I know America, being a fully developed country, has the resources. Throughout this project I realized
that before we start making any changes, enough people have to want it. Not only the people who are
suffering, but the people who have the power to change the suffering. If no one feels passionate about
this and no one wants to work to help these people, all the work it would take would go to waste. So
we have to convince people that this is a great opportunity to help our fellow countries. I consulted
several sources, including government websites, personal account websites, and family members. The
most helpful sources were the government websites of organizations. This project fully changed my
perspective on this topic and really helped me gain a lot of knowledge and information.
