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Chloe Williams

Mr. Taylor

Honors English 1

22 March 2019

Quality Education For All

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world” -Nelson

Mandela (“Education Sayings”). In 2016, the United Nations enforced a set of goals that would

make a huge impact in the world by 2030. These seventeen goals would be called the Sustainable

Development Goals. With these goals, the UN was hoping to end poverty, protect the land we

live on, and provide humans with peace. Quality Education is one of the most meaningful goals.

This well-known organization wanted all children to be able to complete primary and secondary

school free of charge. This would reduce the rate of children out of school in developing regions.

When the goals were put into play, there were approximately 265 million children out of school.

Not only did the organization want kids to attend school, they also wanted them to leave school

having reasonable knowledge and preparing for life after school. This meant that the children

would have an education that would make them productive within the workspace, and their skill

level would be relevant to work. The overall target is that financial instability would not be a

factor for an innocent child not getting an education, which means that no discrimination would

be used towards kids without the best backgrounds. There are a few things that makes this goal

stand out from the others. One, trying to end poverty. Two, the emphasis of children getting a

great education. And three, bringing everyone together for a incredible change within society.

But these are only a few reasons that this goal is most important (“Education-United Nations”).
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Unfortunately, there are various obstacles that are in the way of achieving this goal. One

major issue is poverty. Disease plays a huge factor in the build-up of poverty. Epidemic diseases

are easily spread throughout an area when it is overpopulated. Africa and Asia have a very high

population and obtain some of the most deadly diseases in the world. Another cause of poverty is

bad leadership within the government. Commonly, countries that are in bad conditions lack a

stable government set up to provide the things that they need. This may include adequate

protection, appropriate living spaces, available food for citizens, and having good authority over

that country. Another cause of poverty is underemployment. In less fortunate parts of the world

there are not enough trained teachers to teach the children the things they need to know. And this

is because, as children themselves, the adults were not provided with a valid education.

Foundations are coming together and working to fix this global issue. So far, the enrollment of

primary aged children in school has increased drastically! But 57 million children still remain

uneducated, and about three-fourths of those children are living in Africa. 620 million kids lack

basic math and english knowledge. It is evident that this is the most important goal. However,

there are many things that must be fixed before this goal can be carried out (“Goal 4:

Education”).

Education is viewed as the key to success. Not everyone feels that education is necessary.

However, in many aspects, it provides students with numerous opportunities to thrive after

completing school. The United Nations selected goal four (quality education) to provide the

equal opportunity for everyone to have an education. Hopefully, as a result, no one would feel

inferior to their neighbor and the world would be able to unite as a whole. But again, there is

always a downfall to the plan. This operation would require a lot of monetary investments, which
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results in the UN not receiving as much money from as many people as desired. This may alter

what is happening globally and locally.

Currently, in order to fulfill this goal we must begin growing economically. It is

estimated to take $176 billion each year to accomplish these seventeen Sustainable Development

Goals. We must build strong relationships with people within and outside of the United States.

This will make them feel needed and appreciated. Hopefully, encouraging them to pitch in and

help. As of right now, SDG Media Zone and Sony Pictures Entertainment are working to impact

the outcome of this goal. SDG is a huge media outlet. The organization is trying to enhance our

knowledge of what’s going on in the world, using social media. And encouraging everyone to

help attain this goal in some way. Sony Pictures is emphasizing the target; children. They have

used cartoon characters as a fun way to intrigue people and inspire them to donate to a good

cause (“How Goal 4 is Achieved”).

Again, there is still a bunch of work that needs to be done to improve the quality of

education. The best thing to do is to travel to these countries, see the conditions, and find

solutions to make it better. There are many things that could be done to help achieve this goal.

The two big processes for achievement could be spreading the word and taking action. Inform

your family and friends of the major target that the UN is trying to reach by 2030 and get

involved in organizations that could aid in reaching this goal. There is a lot to be done, but

together, we can make a change bigger than ever before.

Works Cited
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“BK101.” Education Sayings, Education Quotes and Thoughts about Improving

Education, 21 Mar. 2019, www.basicknowledge101.com/subjects/educationquotes.html.

Cann, Oliver, “How Can the Development Goals Be Achieved?” World Economic

Forum, 19 Mar. 2019, www.weforum.org/agenda/2015/09/how-achievable-are-the-

sustainable-development-goals/.

“Education - United Nations Sustainable Development.” United Nations, 14 Mar. 2019,

www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/education/.

“Goal 4: Quality Education.” Sustainable Development Goals Fund, 15 Mar. 2019,

www.sdgfund.org/goal-4-quality-education.