Education for Empowerment: Bridging Potential, Purpose, and Equality
Several years ago, I taught an Information Technology class at a high school in one of our neighboring rural counties to students who were children of wage-earning, working-class families. On the bulletin board in the classroom, there was a display listing about a dozen job opportunities. Conspicuously absent from this list were suggestions for individual entrepreneurial ventures or small business development.
On another occasion, I was teaching a graduate-level class in Sociology of Education. One student, a Mathematics teacher at a small, highly selective suburban private school, shared an interesting example. Her students came from families of high-level business executives and professionals.
On the school campus, there was an irregularly shaped lake with shorelines that twisted and turned, creating numerous inlets and peninsulas. At the start of each school year, this teacher challenged her students to calculate the lake’s surface area. She did not know its actual size but was amazed to see the different approaches her students used to solve this problem.
These two vignettes highlight the disparity in the role of education in society. In the first example, students were being prepared to fill the ranks of labor. In the second, students were learning problem-solving skills in preparation for leadership. Among these youngsters were future doctors, lawyers, engineers, and business professionals.
Unarguably, both groups are essential to the growth of a nation. When the United States was transitioning from an agrarian to an industrial-based economy, this approach to educating a labor force was crucial. Similarly, professional education should prepare individuals to face future challenges. Their unfettered creativity enables them to see challenges as opportunities for national growth.
Both curricular objectives have a place in our education system. However, the problem arises when youngsters are placed in one of these school settings based on their parents’ financial means and influence rather than the students’ abilities. Consequently, economic and social partitioning is perpetuated.
Spiritual responsibility has been removed as an essential component of the educational process. There are no moral or ethical guidelines governing human behavior. Greed and self-interest overpower one’s awareness of their responsibility to The Almighty and to their society at large.
So, what would an education system that empowers individuals to achieve their highest potential look like? First, it should not perpetuate the notion that a college education is the sole barometer of success. This erodes the self-esteem of youngsters who possess talents and skills in non-academic arenas.
Secondly, education should offer students with an interest in small business self-employment an opportunity to develop those necessary entrepreneurial skills. Youngsters should see themselves as contributors to society in any chosen occupation. Skilled labor apprentices and those in the service industries are just as critical to a healthy society as doctors and lawyers.
Most importantly, education should awaken in students a regard for their relationship with their Creator. If we put the Almighty first, we are less likely to look down on those that have selected a livelihood different from our own. In scripture we find: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 3:5–6,). Such an emphasis promotes the notion that all human life is valued by The Almighty, and by extension, should be treated with mutual respect.
In the Qur’an, we find Surah Al-Imran (3:159): “And when you have decided, then rely upon The Almighty. Indeed, The Creator loves those who rely upon Him.”
An education that empowers individuals ensures total human development. In a just and equitable society, the contributions of doctors, drivers, and day laborers are equally valued.
