My American Creed

My American Creed

Many come to America in search for a better future. America is known for its freedom and the opportunities it gives. Many opportunities come from education. There have been many examples of people who have been able to achieve them. Condoleezza Rice is an African American Republican and a former Secretary of State of the United States. Her family was able to be college educated because of her grandfather's work. Her grandfather worked hard to be able to pay for his first year of college, then he received a scholarship by becoming a Presbyterian minister. He then created schools for children in African-American communities to attend to be able to get educated. Since then her family has had a strong perspective towards the value of education. Rice believes that everyone is capable of great opportunities. In the speech she gave at The Foundation for Excellence in Education she said, “Every life is worthy and if every life is worthy, every life is capable of greatness. And what’s a more important venue for that belief than in the education of our children.” With education comes many opportunities that we can use to make a better future for ourselves.

Deidre Prevett is another person that has a strong value for education and the opportunities education can provide. Like Condoleezza, Deidre comes from a family that values education. Her family was able to pay for 5 generations of children to become college educated; they used the oil from their land to pay it. Today Prevett is a principal at an elementary school in Oklahoma. She is the fifth generation in her family to be an educator. She values education and believes that with good education comes success: “I want to make sure they feel loved and that they get the best education they can get.” She became an educator to help others get the best education they could possibly get. She knows giving children the best education they can get will open up the best opportunities. She also wants to make the students feel loved. She wants to make sure they feel wanted and that they know that they are capable of success.

In the American Creed Community Conversation by PBS we also see different people say how America has different opportunities for everyone. One person in the conversation mentioned how we should take advantage of the opportunities we get and our education as well: “Learning as much as you can and taking advantage of all the opportunities you can.” There are many opportunities but if we just let them go by then we are not really taking advantage of what is there. Many value education and work hard for a better future but others have an education and they don’t take advantage of it. We should all be grateful for what we have and we should work hard for a better future for ourselves so that we can be the best version of ourselves.

Being able to have an education is a huge advantage in life. Education is an important factor that will help us know who we want to become, what our purpose is, and it will even open up the doors to opportunities for a better future. Many don’t value education and what it brings; they don’t see it as something that will bring them a good future. We should all be grateful for our education and take advantage of it. Others may not have been able to get educated or they simply have never had an education. Many come to America for a better future and to be able to get an education. We should all value education.