Student Identification Number: AC1209730
Course Number and Title: EN110.6.2 Achieving Academic Excellence
Assignment Number and Title: Writing Assessment5_06
Date of Submission: 12 November 2012
Why College Education is Important to Me
"Why now? Why choose to get a college degree after nearly two decades out of school?" My friends asked these questions when I told them of my intention to finally earn my college degree. I am not surprised at their reaction. After all, I have a good job with over eleven years of banking experience. In addition, I am ranked among my company 's top performers. I, however, have solid reasons why I believe that achieving a college education is of vital importance.
I grew up in a poor neighbourhood in the Caribbean Island of Antigua. Although I had a few really fond childhood memories, family life was generally not a good experience for me. There was always the daily struggle for my parents to put food on the table for four children. Perhaps the reason for this was the fact that neither my mother nor stepfather even finished High School. Hence they both got trapped in low paying dead-end jobs. Growing up, the word ‘college’ was not commonly spoken at home. In fact there was never really any interest shown by my parents in my school life. This may be one of the reasons why I never felt compelled go further with my education. “When parents talk to their children about school, expect them to do well, make sure that out of school activities are constructive, and help them plan for college, their children perform better in school.” That is outlined in the online article “Research Spotlight on Parental Involvement in Education”, a report posted on National Education Association NEA official website. I always believed that college was important but felt a bit guilty about wanting to go when I knew that my parents were eagerly awaiting me to complete high school and find a job to help out with the mountain of bills
Bibliography: E-Book: (Page 6) The Condition of Education 2001 National Center for Examination Statistics US Department of Education–Office of Educational Research and Improvement –NCES 2001-72 nces.ed.gov/pubs2001/2001072.pdf NEA – Research Spotlight on Parental Involvement in Education (2010) http://www.nea.org/ Value of Education (2012) http://www.earnmydegree.com/online-education/learning-center/education-value.html