reading, 'riting, 'rithmetic

yesterday i saw scorched at the wilma theater. while i could spend this entire post raving about the show, i am only going to say this: i am thrilled that i got to see it before it closed. this show was a powerful, moving, intellectual work about the horrors of war and the importance of love and promises. one central theme of the show was the importance of education: the mother (nawal) whose death is announced in the first scene of the play makes a promise to her dying grandmother to learn to read, write, and speak. this importance of education and knowledge is prevalent throughout the play and really made me consider the importance of education in my own life.

i've always attended very good schools and as a result, education is something i truly care about. even now, as i'm considering options for graduate school, i return to a deeper desire to learn and speak about academic and "intellectual" things. i've always enjoyed school and class and learning about things which might otherwise seem foreign. this passion for knowledge took me along many roads, and even impacted my course of study as an undergraduate. but in the end, i find that the importance of education has really been a driving force in my life.

this is not to say that education has been the vanguard for me that it was for nawal. nawal comes from a small middle-eastern village where no one is able to read or write and where being learned in these things instantly makes you a bit of a legend. but nawal understands the importance of knowledge and embarks on a quest to learn. her abilities to speak keep her alive and make her that much more of a powerful foe amidst all the violence surrounding her. this ability to speak, i think, is often underrated in modern society. it is expected that we are all educated either privately or by the national school system, that we learn how to have coherent thoughts and speak them cogently. but this is clearly not the case. our education system is failing terribly, something i've seen first-hand. many students come out of high school without the ability to read on grade level, without the ability to add negative numbers much less solve multivariable equations, without the confidence to speak vehemently and argue rationally. sculpting the minds of our children should be a priority we do not take lightly, but it is often overlooked by lawmakers and benefactors. corporations contribute billions of dollars to rebuild professional sports stadiums, but that money could fund a city's school system for years. why not shift this financial support and start educating our children the way they deserve?

the ability to read, write, and speak should not be considered lightly. people risk their lives in third world countries to go to school, just look at the recent attacks in afghanistan. i, for one, am in awe of these women who continue pursuing education regardless of their immediate danger. they recognize how important education can be in progressive societies and in making significant changes in the world at large. nawal is just one example of this, a woman whose determination to education herself defines her life. we should all be so mindful of the gifts we are given: the ability to read, to write, and to speak.