According to Merriam-Webster’s dictionary, education is summarized as the process of mental, moral, and aesthetic development through instruction; the acquisition of information. As children, we are told that receiving a good education is important in order to be successful. Have you ever questioned the determining factors between a good and poor education? What gives an Ivy League institution greater academic clout in comparison with an average Community College? Better yet, what role does funding play on an individual’s ability to develop mentally, morally, and aesthetically? Are we not responsible individually for the rate at which we develop? With the exception of those suffering from mental disabilities, we are completely responsible individually for our development.

We are often urged, from early on, to seek out an exceptional education. As children, our parents choose the schools we will attend based on statistical information regarding that school’s performance in comparison to others. The school with the best performance results gains you as a student and receives funding due to the number of students enrolled. Does enrolment in an institution with better performance results guarantee that we will receive the best education possible? A school’s performance is measured by the percentage of its students that pass some form of aptitude testing; therefore, the performance results of a “good school” will only indicate that the school has a greater percentage of students who apply themselves. In the end, the quality of education at the individual level will depend on a person’s willingness to learn, his/her level of discipline, and his/her resourcefulness.

In contrast, some will argue that the quality of an individual’s education depends on the learning institution that he/she attends. According to Victoria Clayton of MSNBC, author of "School Debate: Public vs. Private", it is widely assumed that an individual who attends a private school automatically receives a better education than one who attends a public school. Clayton’s article reports:

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