More than just reading Books
Essay by Milena Mosquera

Essay Writing Competition 2025
Category: 12-15 years
- Commendation -

Senior category: Commendation

More than just reading books - Essay by Milena Mosquera

More than just reading books

Since we are kids, we have access to education at home, with our families, or at school. Nowadays, many kids and teenagers, like me, can even learn things by ourselves with phones or computers.

Education is not just reading books at school. It's much more than that. It's something that helps us grow as people, respect others, and try to build a better future for everyone. Every person has the right to learn, to discover what they like, what makes them excited, and who they want to be when they grow up. School plays a big role in this because it helps young people learn about themselves, find new information, build confidence, and discover not only what they like, but also what they’re good at.

Education has changed over time, for better or worse. Sadly, not everyone had or has access to good education, because of family problems, money issues, or where they live. Even today, in some places, people can’t afford to go to school. That takes away their chance to choose their future or stand up for their rights.

In my country, Argentina, some teenagers feel like they have to choose work instead of school. This has been happening for years, not just now. It’s mostly because of social classes and economic difficulties. There are many amazing people in Argentina who never stopped fighting to get the rights we all deserve and one of those rights is education.

Education doesn’t only help us become better citizens, it also helps us become the future of our country. It gives us good opportunities, in work and in life. Learning is a privilege at school or even at home in many places. I really like a phrase from Domingo Faustino Sarmiento, a teacher and ex-president of Argentina. He said: "Hombre, pueblo, Nación, Estado, todo: todo está en los humildes bancos de la escuela" ("Man, people, Nation, State, everything: everything is in the humble school benches.") I agree with that a lot, because everything we dream of or everything we want to build starts in school, from the smallest things to the "impossible" ones.

If we take care of education, we are taking care of the present and the future of millions of people.

Congratulations on your thoughtful and well-expressed essay about the importance of education, Milena! We especially appreciate the powerful use of Sarmiento’s quote to reinforce your message. Thank you. Well done!

Milena is 15 years old and attends Escuela Secundaria n°65 María Elena Walsh in Buenos Aires/ Argentina. English as second language and Spanish as home language.