“The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character--that is the goal of true education.”

On January 15, 1929 Michael King, Jr was born in Atlanta, Georgia. He is known today as Martin Luther King Jr. He is remembered for his crucial role he played in the end of legal segregation of African-American citizens in the South and other areas. King was a civil rights activists and led the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955. He helped in the creation of the civil rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.  In 1963 King gave a renowned speech called, “I have a dream.”

King was once quoted as saying, “The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character--that is the goal of true education.” The meaning of this particular quote, in King’s opinion, is that the purpose of education is to equip students with the ability to think thoroughly and completely about what they are learning. To think things through more rationally.  To have a deep level of understanding of what is being taught.  We have people in this world who may think reasonably, but lack morals. This was particularly true during his lifetime with segregation still codified into law. It is not enough to have the knowledge, one must also have the experience. King played a crucial role in not only educating his fellow people on race issues, but also getting them involved in protests against segregation of race. This is something he believed so strongly about. 

While living in Germany and working with young children, I became a strong advocate for early childhood learning. My fellow coworkers and I worked closely with daycare parents to better equip them with the knowledge of how every day there are learning techniques to work with children. Learning begins from day one, this is something that many parents have not been educated on. We made a huge difference in the lives of those children we worked with and their parents. We not only gave them information on cognitive and social skills, but we also had workshops to work with the parents and children on these said skills.

In closing, I would like to say that knowledge is a powerful tool, but only if one is using that knowledge in their lives!

Works cited

Biography.com Editors. "Martin Luther King Jr Biography." Biography.com.

A&E Networks Television. Web. 15 Feb. 2016.

<http://www.biography.com/people/martin-luther-king-jr-9365086>.

"DrMartinLutherKingJr.com - The Purpose Of Education." DrMartinLutherKingJr.com - The Purpose Of Education. 1947. Web. 15 Feb. 2016.

<http://www.drmartinlutherkingjr.com/thepurposeofeducation.htm>.