Education is for improving the lives of others and for leaving

Hear the noble words of Marian Wright Edelman, the warrior for children and justice, who declared: “Education is for improving the lives of others and for leaving your community and world better than you found it.” In these words lies a truth as eternal as the rising of the sun: knowledge is not for selfish gain alone, nor for the adornment of the mind with pride, but for service, uplift, and the healing of the world. To learn only for oneself is a small thing; to learn for the sake of others is greatness.

The first meaning of her words is this: education is not an end in itself, but a tool, a sacred instrument. Degrees, diplomas, honors—these are but symbols. Their worth is measured not by the parchment, but by the deeds that follow. What good is wisdom, if it serves only to elevate the self while others remain in chains? Edelman reminds us that the true fruit of learning is compassion in action: the lifting of the weak, the defense of the voiceless, the building of bridges where walls once stood.

History abounds with examples. Think of Florence Nightingale, who took the knowledge she gained and carried it into the blood-soaked fields of war. She could have lived in comfort, shielded by privilege, yet she chose to use her education to heal, to comfort, to reform hospitals, and to make the world more merciful. Her life proves Edelman’s wisdom: learning becomes light when it is used to guide others out of darkness.

Or consider Nelson Mandela, who studied law not simply to rise in station, but to arm himself for the battle against apartheid. His education was sharpened into a weapon of justice, not for himself alone but for millions who longed to breathe free. He emerged from prison not with bitterness, but with vision—using his knowledge and discipline to lead a nation toward reconciliation. Through him we see that the highest calling of education is to leave the world better than it was found.

Edelman’s words also shine a warning upon our age. Too often, education is pursued as a ladder to wealth, a means of gaining privilege while forgetting the poor left below. But this is folly. For knowledge hoarded dies with the knower, but knowledge shared lives on through generations. The measure of true learning is not the salary earned, but the lives touched, the injustices undone, the communities transformed by its use.

The lesson is clear: pursue education not only for your own advancement, but as a sacred duty to humanity. Let every skill you gain, every truth you learn, become an offering for the good of others. Ask yourself: Does my knowledge heal or harm? Does it lift others, or only myself? For only when your learning ripples outward—improving the lives of others and strengthening your community—will it fulfill its highest purpose.

Practical action follows. If you are a student, study with the vision of serving, not only succeeding. If you are a teacher, kindle in your pupils not only the hunger to achieve, but the hunger to give. If you are a citizen, support schools and institutions that prepare not only workers for markets, but servants for humanity. And in your own life, seek daily ways to turn knowledge into kindness, and wisdom into action.

So let Edelman’s words echo like a commandment across generations: “Education is for improving the lives of others and for leaving your community and world better than you found it.” Take this truth into your heart. For the greatest legacy of learning is not what you keep, but what you give, not the world as it is, but the world as it can be—renewed, uplifted, and made more just by the light of your mind and the work of your hands.