The Importance of Education

Many historical figures have not completed their school education or have never received any formal education at all. They nevertheless have achieved what normal people cannot. Especially nowadays with the information technology and Internet, accesses to databases and knowledge are unlimited. However, this does not mean that formal education is not important or unnecessary at all. On the contrary, it is the commonly available education that provides poor students with the environment and chances to higher and greater achievements.

First of all, the importance of education is emphasized by society. Education provides us with knowledge about the world. It paves the way for not only a good career but also a good character. It leads to Enlightenment that brings confidence and meaning in oneself. In other words, education makes a man complete. However, if anyone takes education the same as a search engine that provides whatever information one types in, it would be completely ignorant. As Bill Gates himself has suggested that school is the place to learn how and why, it is a place where people learn to make judgments by themselves rather than look for answers already written in books. Only in school can the young and innocent heart learn to learn by themselves in a relatively fair and secure environment. The society provides and puts great effort in public education system to create connections and platforms among younger generations, to enhance society with coordination and cooperation.

Second, it is a necessity and precious chance far students to establish human connections and learn essential social skills in school. The central part of schooling is not about how much can one recite from textbook but how much can one receive and learn from how others acquired the knowledge and wrote it into textbooks. Education is a notion of better-self. With education can man become more rational and easier to accept who he or she is, and what complementary efforts should be make, because in school, teachers and classmates are best ways to learn about oneself. Some people spend their whole to find the meaning of their being. Internet can passively give any information one prefers, but never a word spoken to tell why they are different. Formal education is a process to read and receive with discrimination.

In a nutshell, even though Bill Gates dropped out of school and started his life-long career, not everyone is Bill Gates. Before Bill Gates come to the place where he is today, he had at least twenty-year education to help him to see what he sees now. That is, the importance of education.

由材料可知是对高等教育是否有必要的探讨。从材料可以提取这样几个要点：学校培养学生学习能力，而不仅仅是被动接受知识；高等教育是提供更广阔的平台的机会；高等教育使人具备更强的判断力和决策能力；教育是一个人的终生事业。