What's a good thesis for an essay about "what does it mean to be educated?"

Essay: Many great people throughout history have claimed to be educated. But what does it mean to be educated? Being educated cannot be determined by whether one came from an Ivy League school, has a 4.0, or any means of standardized tests. Education is not knowledge, although commonly confused as such. Education is not something that can be measured. One simply is or is not. To be educated is having the ability to listen carefully, think critically, and explore viewpoints different than one’s own. This being said, the majority of the men and women who run the government that sets laws and restrictions on its people are not educated. Not to say that government officials are not qualified to hold their positions, but a majority of these men and women do not meet the criteria to be categorized as educated.

A huge part of education is the consumption of knowledge. One cannot form opinions on a matter if that person does not know about that matter. The ability to listen carefully is the most effective way to absorb information on a subject. One cannot simply sit in on a conference and listen to someone speak and expect to absorb what they are saying. A listener must adamantly listen to each sentence, extract the idea within, ponder it, and chose to believe it or not. Many times, by actually listening to someone speaking, it will create more questions than you had before. The more one learns, the more one will realize that they know nothing. By asking questions one can better understand and solidify what they are learning.

After obtaining the information, one should not just store it away for later use, but treat it as a muscle. If you ponder and think critically upon that idea, it will strengthen and grow. But similar to a muscle, if one does not work it out often, it will begin to atrophy. A perfect example of such is a television show called “Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?” Many of the adults brought onto this show are “educated” with doctorates and masters. And yet, they are out-smarted on such simple matters by children. This is because these children are continuing to learn these problems while the prestigious members of society have not thought about such things in many years or even decades. One must periodically ponder their knowledge so as to protect it from atrophy and help them gain a better understanding on many topics and ideas.

Once one has a solid understanding on an idea, he or she must form a viewpoint on such idea. Many ideas are controversial and have strong arguments on both sides. This is why it is important to be well learned on these ideas so that they can create their own viewpoint on these ideas and be firm upon that. And yet, one must avoid being too firm upon their viewpoints and shutting out the ideas of others. One must be humble and able to listen to other viewpoints and asses them. If it is determined after much contemplation that that latter viewpoint is more valid than the previous, one must accept their shortcomings and learn from them. It is in this where many political figures fall short.

Political parties are a major reason why political figures are so stubborn. Many politicians are controlled by their parties and do not make decisions on their own. They take sides on political ideas that agree with their political parties and not just their personal thoughts. Those who are striving to please the general public often base their ideas as such that would please those who would put them in office and not on their own collaboration. Once their ideas are made know, they often never change them so as not to be seen as wishy-washy or easily corrupted. Because of these reasons, one will never know if a political figure is faking it and not living by his or her own ideas, or if they are one of the very few who truly speak what they believe.

The misconception between knowledge and education is very common. Knowledge is being learned of many things, where as education is having an understanding of many things. There are many similarities, but in order to claim an education, one must make sure that he or she is worthy of such a title as educated. A Greek philosopher called Socrates went to the many educated of Athens to ask of their professions. In doing so he came to the realization that himself and those who claimed a vast education actually knew nothing. By realizing this, Socrates himself became educated. The first step to becoming educated is to humble oneself to learn that they do not know.

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i have learned a great many things from participating in varsity football. it has changed my entire outlook on and attitude toward life. before my freshman year at [high-school], i was shy, had low self-esteem and turned away from seemingly impossible challenges. football has altered all of these qualities. on the first day of freshman practice, the team warmed up with a game of touch football. the players were split up and the game began. however, during the game, i noticed that i didn't run as hard as i could, nor did i try to evade my defender and get open. the fact of the matter is that i really did not want to be thrown the ball. i didn't want to be the one at fault if i dropped the ball and the play didn't succeed. i did not want the responsibility of the team because i was too afraid of making a mistake. that aspect of my character led the first years of my high school life. i refrained from asking questions in class, afraid they might be considered too stupid or dumb by my classmates. all the while, i went to practice and everyday, i went home physically and mentally exhausted.

yet my apprehension prevailed as i continued to fear getting put in the game in case another player was injured. i was still afraid of making mistakes and getting blamed by screaming coaches and angry teammates. sometimes these fears came true. during my sophomore season, my position at backup guard led me to play in the varsity games on many occasions. on such occasions, i often made mistakes. most of the time the mistakes were not significant; they rarely changed the outcome of a play. yet i received a thorough verbal lashing at practice for the mistakes i had made. these occurrences only compounded my fears of playing. however, i did not always make mistakes. sometimes i made great plays, for which i was congratulated. now, as i dawn on my senior year of football and am faced with two starting positions, i feel like a changed person.

over the years, playing football has taught me what it takes to succeed. from months of tough practices, i have gained a hard work ethic. from my coaches and fellow teammates, i have learned to work well with others in a group, as it is necessary to cooperate with teammates on the playing field. but most important, i have also gained self-confidence. if i fail, it doesn't matter if they mock or ridicule me; i'll just try again and do it better. i realize that it is necessary to risk failure in order to gain success. the coaches have always said before games that nothing is impossible; i know that now. now, i welcome the challenge. whether i succeed or fail is irrelevant; it is only important that i have tried and tested myself.

the topic of this essay is how the applicant has matured and changed since his freshman year. he focuses on football. one of the strengths of this essay is that it is well organized. the applicant clearly put time into the structure and planning of this essay. he uses the platform of football to discuss and demonstrate his personal growth and development through the high school years. what he could have done better was spend more time describing himself after he made improvements. as it is, he only tells us about his newfound confidence and drive. this essay would have been stronger had he actually shown us, perhaps by including a story or describing an event where his confidence made a difference

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