“The power of education extends beyond the development of the skills we need for economic success. It can contribute to nation-building and reconciliation.”
Nelson Mandela
Are you the parent of one or more children? If so, can you afford to live a reasonably affluent lifestyle or at least a middle-class life? If so, do your children get everything they need and want? Or, do you teach your children the value of working to pay for the items they would like to buy?
At the outset of this article, it is vital to note that criticizing wealthy or middle-class families is not the intention of this discussion. The first paragraph is merely setting the scene as it were for the rest of the discourse that follows.
Table of Contents
The intrinsic value of education
Joseph Dedvukaj of Wayne State University notes that “education has another type of value that is not monetary.”
The quotation mentioned above by Nelson Mandela echoes this sentiment. Succinctly stated, a good education is not only about the knowledge gain that allows graduates to participate in the world’s economy. It is also about learning life skills that lead to “nation-building and reconciliation.”
Let’s consider the following example. Most US most US parents attribute monetary value to education. The cost of reading a degree at an Ivy League university like Harvard is 63% more expensive than the average price of a private non-profit college. Even though the Harvard University tuition might, or might not, be superior to a non-Ivy League college, a Harvard university education is perceived to be more valuable than other non-profit colleges.
Therefore, the question that begs is whether an expensive university education is worth more than a medium-priced or free education.
There is no simple answer to this question. Even though an Ivy league university costs more and is perceived to have a higher Return on Investment (ROI) than a non-Ivy league university, this is not necessarily true. Valuable education depends more on the lecturers and how hard the students work.
The world today: A snapshot
The world has moved into an economic depression equal to, or worse than, the 2008 Great Depression. This is caused by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), which first appeared in China towards the end of 2019. It has since spread across the globe, with more than 2.1 million active infections, and circa 146 000 deaths. These figures are rising rapidly and are accurate as of April 17, 2020.
Most of the world population is under varying degrees of lockdown orders forcing all nonessential businesses to close and resulting in the dramatic drop in the global stock markets. The 2020 stock market crash began on March 9, 2020, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average losing the most value it has ever experienced before.
Therefore, if there was ever a time where NGOs and charitable organizations needed to help the poor, it is now.
The inherent value in giving
As highlighted above, one of the intrinsic values of a good education encompasses the need to give to the less fortunate than ourselves. This includes offering financial support to charitable or non-profit organizations like yadezra.net.
Why?
There are many reasons why giving is important. Why it is essential to educate your kids, irrespective of their age, to support charitable organizations or NPOs who feed, clothe, and house the poor.
There are two sides to giving. There are valid reasons why an individual must give to an organization. And, there are legitimate grounds why the organization has to accept these donations.
The most apparent reason why NPOs and charities to accept gifts and donations is that they need money to continue meeting their stated mission.
Additionally, here are the two most important reasons why it is essential to give to charities that help the poor.
Learn valuable life skills
The website, selfgrowth.com, correctly states that by thinking and caring about other people, you learn more about life than you would if you only thought about yourself and your needs. And, by teaching your children to care about other people, you are enabling them to make a difference in this world. They are more likely to succeed in life, not only in business but in every aspect of their lives, from marriage to friendships.
Build self-worth and self-confidence
When you enable charities to feed, clothe, and house the poor, you are teaching yourself that you have value. And, by recognizing your life has value, you are improving your self-worth, and by extension, your self-confidence will grow.
What happens is that when you do good deeds and think of others besides yourself, your brain releases the neurochemicals known as endorphins. These hormones are also known as the “feel-good” hormones. Their primary function is to facilitate the transmission of electrical signals or instructions along the neurons. Therefore, you are improving your brain function, which in turn is advantageous for both you and those around you. In summary, it is a win-win situation.
Featured image source: Freepik
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