…effects of education…

While reading E. D. Hirsch’s book Cultural Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know, I came across this quote by Ernest Gellner from Nations and Nationalism:

The employability, dignity, security, and self-respect of individuals, typically, and for the majority of men now hinges on their education… A man’s education is by far his most precious investment, and in effect confers his identity on him. Modern man is not loyal to monarch, or a land, or a faith, whatever he may say, but to a culture… [This] school-transmitted culture, not a folk-transmitted one, alone confers usability and dignity and self-respect on industrial man.

Certainly there is no better investment one could make than to become widely educated in a variety of fields of study. This is especially true considering that the only possession that will continue with us to the next life will be our minds and education.

From a religious standpoint, we are counseled to study the scriptures and the teachings of the prophets and leaders to gain our own self-reliance regarding spiritual matters. When questions and difficult times arise in our lives, we are strengthened when we have spiritual knowledge and understanding that comes from study - personal, family, in church meetings, etc.

Lastly, our education - both religious or secular - doesn’t end when we receive our diploma. Rather, every day is an opportunity to broaden our perspective and appreciation for our world. This education can take the form of understanding world events, reading books and websites, engaging in dialogue, and other formal and informal settings.