It is the power of education that has fuelled Man’s progress and it is the unquenchable thirst for knowledge that has always propelled us forward, in advancing, moving forward and crossing numerous boundaries. Education is a resource which is life sustaining. Someone once said - “Spreading knowledge is like a candle lighting others”. It only increases the light and is not merely the ‘filling of an empty bucket’.

However, the questions that arise here are, “Is education merely limited to knowledge? Is our first day in school, the first day into the world of education? Well my answer to these questions is a big no! For me, we enter the world of education the moment we step out of our mother’s womb. Everything that we see, everything that we sense, leaves an impact on us, however deep it might be.. A young child’s mind catches and tries to imitate each and every action that it witnesses.  If a child sees  a person hitting another, he/she naturally acquires the tendency to hit too-from their perception that this  action is normal. No child in this world is criminal by birth but it is the environment which creates it. Once we grow old, we become rigid. All the habits that we inculcate, the type of language we speak, the words we use all becomes a part of us. They become our character.

Education plays a crucial role in giving a direction to change and it can not only shape today’s face but it can also enlighten the tomorrow. In olden days the requirements were limited and man used to do all the work manually as his sole aim was to survive. With the advancement of education, knowledge progressed andstarted to spread like fire. There was also advancement in science and technology and now we see the wide distances across the world shrinking due to the benefits of scientific inventions as we continue to move into the jet age.

But what is it that education is carrying out? Education triggers at the proper integration and harmony between feeling, thinking and doing. That is the reason why man, after gaining heaps of never ending knowledge has the ability to apply it and push himself/herself to the right path.

I have been deeply influenced by a woman whose life I believe was transformed only due to education: Dr.Josette T.Biyo - who is the daughter of Antonio Talamera (a Social Science teacher) - is a Filipino educator and  the first Asian to win the ‘Intel Excellence in Teaching Award’ for innovative teaching in science. An asteroid, 13241Biyo (1998 KM41), was also named after her by the Massachusetts Institutes of Technology, Lincoln Laboratory, USA in 2002. Presently, she is the Executive Director of the Philippine Science High School System. Her sons too got an exposure to the wonders of science and its amazing potential during her field research. They also imbibed from their mother who instilled in them the values  of diligence and hard work. As a result  they too turned out to be very successful and have recently won ‘the most promising scientist award’ in Malaysia and have also represented  the Philippines at the Intel international and Engineering Fair in Pittsburgh, USA.

Behind all the achievements of the succeeding generations in this family, it was education only that was a guiding force throughout, to help in directing what was right . As mentioned earlier, knowledge like a spreading flame caught on to her sons too leading them in turn to excel in their live too. Thus, Education spells out a right concept of reality and acts like a beacon in a dark night. It does give the right direction that determines the future life of a man.