I went through school joining the chorus of complaining my friends supplied. Why do we have to go to school? Why do we have to do homework? And worst of all, why do we have to do it in rural Franklin County, an area we considered boring and empty.

This genre of complaints went against everything else I claimed to value, things like success, achievement, determination, and independence. I am thankful that my experiences in college revealed to me how lucky I am to have the opportunity to learn, even though it means going to school and doing homework.

The goal of education is certainly to educate a child, but so much more comes along with it. Socialization, understanding goal-setting, time management, responsibility, a love for knowledge. All of those comes with quality education experiences. The advent of standardized testing, in my opinion, has threatened some of the basic joys and goals of education. Instead of teaching children to love learning and to seek personal accomplishment through achievement in school, standardized testing teaches kids to take tests, and almost mandates that teachers focus on those tests.

Perhaps it's too soon to fully appreciate the pros and cons of standardized testing. Maybe this new concept is shunned simply because of it's newness. There's a chance that standardized testing is the answer to holding every school to high standards and improving the education system. Maybe standardized testing won't usurp the idea that one of the real goals of education is to enrich through knowledge and build a love of learning.

Through my education process, I worked hard, made good grades and, in time, reaped the benefits and grew to love learning.

Though school is hard, as I got older I became more and more aware of the doors education opens. Unlike high school, when studying was mundane, my college experience inspired me to pursue even further education in law school.

The benefits of education are countless. In addition to the obvious knowledge gain, education enlightens, matures, advances, and enriches a person, and for those benefits, I chose to further my education by attending Virginia Tech, and beyond.

Learn more about this author, A. South.
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