Nelson Mandela- myths and heroes

'' A good head and good heart are always a formidable combination. But when you add to that a literate tongue or pen, then you have something very special .... Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world." Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela known as the peace prize winner in 1993 and the first president of South-African republic (1994-1999), also symbolized peace and faith in education both for his people and for everybody around the world. The Nelson-Mandela foundation that was created in 1999 perfectly illustrates his beliefs in the power that education brings and the fact that; « Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world ».

Nelson Mandela is a real proof of his quote because he was one of the first black South-African who went to prestigious schools. One can suppose that without this education he couldn’t have accomplished all the things he did in his life.

In fact education allows people to develop their thinking, form their own opinions and point of views on different subjects thanks to solid knowledge. Furthermore it will be much more difficult to manipulate an well educated person in doing irrational actions because he or she can differentiate between good and bad and choose to do the right thing. Whereas a poor educated person will most likely be a follower no matter who is telling him what to do, just like a puppet coordinated by his puppeteer.

Even if it’s important to differentiate formal education (school/parents) from experience-based education, those two are equally important for self-development. « Whatever happens, I learn. I win every time » (Marguerite Yourcenar)

Finally, one can say for sure that education is a very powerful tool but at the same time; can-it be used as a weapon of mass destruction ? History has given us a to of examples such as Nazi’s hitlerjugend or Soviet’s komosomol.

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