Berkley Center

If there ever was a single thing that could be used to separate humans from every other life-form, it would be our brain. What is most remarkable about the human brain is its size. Weighing in around an average of 1,300 grams, it eclipses the weight of every single animal with our similar body mass. These incredible meat patties that we call “brains” (with a little help from our friend, the opposable thumb) are able to accomplish monumental feats. Our brains can create from nothing. By wielding our relentless imaginations, we have been able to turn a blank piece of paper into the Mona Lisa, the Bible, and a paper airplane. Through the firing of neurons, signals can be sent to our hand which can move a pen across paper to create various curves and shapes with ink. But even more extraordinarily, we are able to look at these ordered structures of ink molecules and conjure up a vision of Hogwarts, conjure up a memory made decades in the past, or conjure up a concert with Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony playing in only the recesses of our minds.

Needless to say, our brains are a thing of magic; the limits are indeed, potentially, endless. But although potentials exist all around us, most are rarely ever fulfilled, and this is where education comes into play. Any skill our brain is capable of needs time to be cultivated. No one was able to understand a foreign language without practicing it. In college, I have been bombarded with various disparities: health care, wealth, food, jobs, etc. But I would argue that it is only the disparity in education that really matters. I would even more boldly claim that many, if not all, of the aforementioned disparities are a direct or indirect result of the inefficiency in our educational system. What is even more worrisome, however, is that the disparity is not even the largest problem, although I am not attempting to belittle nor ignore it. There is not equal opportunity, but before we attempt to fix that, we should prioritize ensuring that the opportunity is worth the effort. Education in this country is not focused on enhancing our minds. It is focused on training our minds only to take tests and sit in cubicles, and it is such a shame. Because our brain is a miracle. And with it properly nurtured, anyone is capable of anything, and most of all, this country is capable of anything.