Education profoundly affects the lives of many people and provides the foundation for a person to establish a plan for their future. Well-educated people can form decisions that benefit both themselves and the interests of their society. A true education doesn’t consist of a group of classes containing a series of facts to be used on a test and then forgotten, but contains a series of tools that students use in their everyday lives. A true education is a main dish which should be served in all schools. This dish includes three main ingredients; a hardworking teacher, a motivated student, and involved parents. Without all three ingredients, this dish is useless.

The first ingredient is a hardworking teacher. Teachers are the most important part of constituting a true education, but the problem is they aren’t teaching students what should be taught. According to James Baldwin, a society only wants people who will “simply obey the rules of society,” or believe that what’s being taught is always true, but according to Ralph Waldo Emerson, a genius seeks their truth for themselves. Having teachers not teach students the truth enables our society to raise potential geniuses. A teacher’s behavior should reflect values such as tolerance, compassion, and open-mindedness. Teachers should not try to persuade students with their personal points of view, but an ideal classroom environment is one that allows students to feel free to express individual beliefs.

The next ingredient is a motivated student. All students learn differently; therefore, different strategies are needed to help different students gain knowledge of what is being taught, but students are attending school to have fun instead of learning. Why do you think this is happening? According to Leon Botstein, these students are becoming bored with repeating what they’ve learned in their previous years. Botstein argues that students should be attending institutions which are dedicated to an activity which they plan on majoring in which could give them a glimpse of the “real world”. This is a great idea. But will it ever happen? When a student graduates from high school, this shows that they are motivated. This relates to having hard working teachers. The teachers must step in and show these students that learning is important. Mrs. Gruwell, in Freedom Writers, exemplifies a perfect way to keep students involved in education. Although these students never wanted to learn, Mrs. G stepped in and showed them that they must learn in order to be successful.

Finally, the finishing ingredient: involved parents. Parents are an important ingredient to the true education dish. Parents who aren't involved in their children's education only impede the efforts made by teachers and students to create a true education. These parents are often uninterested with their children's education as a whole. When a child attends school, the parent should assist the teacher in teaching their child. While at home, the child should be asked constantly, “How was school? Did you learn anything?” This demonstrates an involved parent.

The true education dish should be served in schools daily. All three ingredients must be used in order for it to be successful. Once a school serves the true education dish, each student’s stomachs will be filled with the ability to have a prosperous future and further their education.