Throughout history, education has taken a very crucial role in societal development. From civil service exams in Han China to the Renaissance of Europe, being educated has always been a distinguishing mark. Education is not simply for learning facts, nor is it to have an open mind. Indeed, these two ideas are indelibly tied and the presence of both in an individual is a true show of greatness through thought.

In contemporary society education has seemed to drift away from applicable knowledge toward a standardized mold of knowledge. Students have countless facts driven into their minds from the beginning of their educational career but are oftentimes not expected to do anything more with the information. They have been taught to spew these facts upon command, but have not been shown how to apply them or synthesize them for personal gain. Although these facts themselves bear a lot of potential for education, the way in which they are fed to students without any real thought to their reciprocations. With tests like the FCAT and other "comprehensive" tests that are meant to demonstrate competency but nothing more, can there really be any other purpose for these facts whose meanings have been lost in the scuttle for "competence"?

Similarly, an open mind is not enough on its own to make one educated. Although an open mind is surely an admirable trait, it is essentially meaningless when there is little to no substance behind it. This concept, too, has been lost in the modern world, where acceptance for all is the expected value. Despite the fact that most fall short of this utopian ideology, there is no purpose in attempting to enforce acceptance when there is no fact, no substance, no knowledge to back it up. Take, for instance, the groups who are fervently against the Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court decision, or gay marriage. Though these groups pride themselves on being above such "blasphemy" or "heresy", their closed minds exclude any possibility of acceptance because they have generally not been presented with facts to refute their opinions. They hear the arguments but remain, for the most part, completely unmoved in their forceful ways.

Edward Albee wrote in "The Zoo Story" that love and anger, independent of one another, will get nowhere, but when they are combined, they become "the teaching emotion." Similarly, if facts and an open mind are completely empty when they are independent from one another, then they are assuredly a forceful testament of education when they are combined. As aforementioned, facts will do no good when they do not find application to change the world. Similarly, an open mind is meaningless when there is no substance to back it up. But together, they are an almost immovable force.

To be able to be open-minded and informed, that is a true demonstration of a strong mind. It is independent, it is self-sufficient, but most importantly, it is empathic and impartial. It is the goal of any true scholar, and it is the mark of true accomplishment that rings throughout the history of education.