If i could Change One Thing in the World, what would it be

Introduction

When confronted with the hypothetical power to change a single aspect of our world, one faces a profound question that reveals much about personal values and perspectives on humanity's most pressing challenges. Climate change threatens our very existence, poverty condemns billions to suffering, and political conflicts tear at the fabric of society. Yet if granted the capability to fundamentally alter just one element of our global reality, I would choose to transform education—specifically, to create a system where high-quality education becomes a truly universal right, accessible to every human being regardless of geography, socioeconomic status, gender, or any other demographic factor.

This choice stems not from minimizing other global challenges but from recognizing education as the foundational multiplier that enhances our collective capacity to address all other problems facing humanity. Universal access to quality education represents the single most powerful lever for positive transformation across social, economic, environmental, and political dimensions of human existence.

The Current State of Global Education

Before exploring the transformative potential of universal education, we must confront the sobering reality of educational inequality in our current world. According to UNESCO, approximately 258 million children and youth remained out of school in 2018. Even more concerning, the World Bank estimates that 53% of children in low and middle-income countries cannot read and understand a simple text by age 10—a phenomenon termed "learning poverty." These statistics reflect not merely a lack of schooling but a fundamental denial of opportunity that perpetuates intergenerational cycles of disadvantage. Educational disparities mirror and reinforce broader social inequalities, with factors such as wealth, gender, disability status, ethnicity, and geographic location strongly predicting educational outcomes.

The COVID-19 pandemic has further exacerbated these inequalities. UNESCO reports that at the height of school closures, over 1.6 billion learners were affected, with the most vulnerable students experiencing the most significant learning losses. Digital divides became educational chasms as remote learning proved accessible primarily to privileged populations with reliable internet connections, appropriate devices, and supportive home environments. The Brookings Institution estimates that the pandemic may have increased learning poverty by an additional 10 percentage points. These statistics reflect not merely temporary disruptions but potentially permanent limitations on human potential for an entire generation, particularly in regions already struggling with educational access and quality.

Education as a Catalyst for Multiple Solutions

The decision to prioritize educational transformation stems from its unparalleled potential as a catalyst for addressing multiple global challenges simultaneously. Education functions as what systems theorists might call a "high-leverage intervention point"—a place within a complex system where relatively small changes can produce significant outcomes across multiple dimensions. Research consistently demonstrates education's profound impact across diverse domains of human development and social progress. A 2018 World Bank report indicates that each additional year of schooling increases an individual's earnings by approximately 9% and raises a country's GDP by 0.37% annually. Beyond economic metrics, education correlates strongly with improved health outcomes, reduced fertility rates in regions experiencing population pressures, enhanced gender equality, greater political stability, and increased environmental stewardship.

Education's power lies in its capacity to enhance human capability—what Nobel laureate Amartya Sen described as "the ability of human beings to lead lives they have reason to value and to enhance the substantive choices they have." By expanding individuals' knowledge, critical thinking abilities, and creative capacities, education enables more effective collective problem-solving across all domains of human concern. Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker argues that education serves as the primary driver of what he terms the "moral Flynn effect"—the historical expansion of moral consideration to previously marginalized groups. As education levels rise, societies typically become more tolerant, more democratic, less violent, and more committed to universal human rights. From this perspective, universal education represents not merely an instrumental good but a foundational component of human flourishing.

Addressing Objections and Alternatives

Critics might reasonably question whether educational transformation truly represents the most urgent global priority. Climate change threatens existential risk, while political conflicts cause immediate suffering that education alone cannot immediately alleviate. Furthermore, some may argue that without addressing systemic issues like economic inequality or political corruption first, educational reforms would remain superficial or ineffective. These objections merit serious consideration. However, they ultimately present a false dichotomy between education and other priorities, failing to recognize how enhanced human capabilities through education directly strengthen our collective capacity to address these very challenges. As economist and philosopher Martha Nussbaum argues, "Education does not simply add value to human life; it fundamentally transforms what human life is and what it can become."

The objection that education represents a long-term solution ill-suited to immediate crises also deserves scrutiny. While some educational benefits accumulate gradually over generations, others manifest more rapidly than commonly assumed. Research by the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) demonstrates that targeted educational interventions can produce meaningful outcomes within months or years rather than decades. For instance, programs teaching critical thinking skills have demonstrably improved democratic participation among youth within single election cycles. Similarly, environmental education programs have produced measurable behavioral changes within communities in timeframes relevant to current ecological challenges. The distinction between "urgent" and "important" priorities often creates a false tension that undervalues education's role in both immediate and long-term problem-solving capacities.

Envisioning Transformed Education

What would a truly transformed global education system entail? First, it would guarantee universal access—not merely to schools as physical structures but to genuine learning opportunities regardless of circumstance. This would require massive infrastructure investment in underserved regions, deployment of appropriate technologies to overcome geographic barriers, and elimination of financial obstacles from primary through tertiary education. Second, transformed education would emphasize quality and relevance, moving beyond rote memorization toward development of critical thinking, creativity, emotional intelligence, and practical problem-solving capabilities. UNESCO's framework of "learning to know, learning to do, learning to live together, and learning to be" offers a useful conceptual foundation for this holistic approach.

Third, transformed education would embrace flexibility and personalization, recognizing diverse learning styles, cultural contexts, and individual needs. This requires moving beyond industrial-era models of standardization toward more adaptive approaches. Fourth, education would become truly lifelong, acknowledging that rapid technological and social change requires continuous learning throughout adulthood. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) estimates that 1.1 billion jobs will be transformed by technology in the next decade, necessitating significant reskilling for much of the global workforce. Finally, transformed education would consciously cultivate global citizenship—developing not merely technical capabilities but ethical awareness and cross-cultural understanding essential for addressing planetary-scale challenges like climate change, pandemics, and technological governance.

Pathways to Educational Transformation

Achieving this educational transformation would require coordinated action across multiple levels. At the international level, organizations like UNESCO, UNICEF, and the Global Partnership for Education would need significantly expanded funding commitments and strengthened mandate to coordinate global efforts. The current education financing gap in low and middle-income countries stands at approximately $148 billion annually according to the Education Commission—a substantial but ultimately achievable sum representing less than 0.1% of global GDP. Beyond financial resources, international cooperation must facilitate knowledge-sharing about effective educational practices while respecting cultural diversity and local autonomy in implementation.

At national levels, governments would need to prioritize education within fiscal budgets, policy frameworks, and political discourse. This includes not merely increasing educational spending (though this remains essential in many contexts) but improving efficiency, effectiveness, and equity in how resources are allocated. Civil society organizations, religious institutions, and private sector entities all play crucial roles in educational ecosystems and must be engaged as partners rather than competitors or obstacles. The most successful educational transformations—like those in Finland, Singapore, and South Korea—have succeeded precisely because education became a genuine societal priority transcending partisan politics and short-term thinking. These models demonstrate that rapid educational transformation is possible when political will aligns with evidence-based approaches and consistent implementation.

Technology's Role in Educational Transformation

Technological innovation offers unprecedented opportunities to accelerate educational transformation, though technology alone cannot substitute for fundamental systemic changes. Digital learning platforms can dramatically expand access to quality educational content in regions lacking qualified teachers or adequate facilities. The growth of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) and Open Educational Resources (OERs) demonstrates the potential to democratize knowledge previously confined to elite institutions. Artificial intelligence applications show promise for personalizing learning experiences at scale, adapting to individual student needs in ways impossible in traditional classroom settings with limited teacher capacity. Mobile technologies enable learning in contexts where traditional infrastructure remains impractical, with initiatives like Kenya's M-Shule demonstrating how SMS-based platforms can deliver educational content even without smartphones or reliable internet.

However, technological approaches must address rather than reinforce existing inequalities. The "digital divide" encompasses not merely access to devices and connectivity but digital literacy, appropriate content in local languages, and supportive contexts for technology use. As education researcher Kentaro Toyama observes, "Technology amplifies human intent and capacity; it does not substitute for them." This principle suggests that technological interventions succeed most when integrated within broader educational ecosystems rather than imposed as standalone solutions. Furthermore, technological approaches must balance innovation with appropriate skepticism, particularly regarding data privacy, screen time concerns for young learners, and the fundamental importance of human relationships in education. When thoughtfully implemented with these considerations in mind, technology represents a powerful accelerator for educational transformation.

The Moral Imperative of Educational Equity

Beyond pragmatic benefits, universal quality education represents a profound moral imperative. The arbitrary circumstances of one's birth—geographic location, family wealth, gender, ethnicity—should not determine access to development of one's capabilities. As philosopher John Rawls argued in his conception of justice, truly fair social arrangements would be those we would choose if we did not know what position we would occupy in society. Few would design a world where accident of birth so strongly determines educational opportunity, yet we collectively maintain such systems through action and inaction. The right to education appears in Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights precisely because it represents a foundation for human dignity and development of personhood.

The denial of educational opportunity constitutes what political philosopher Miranda Fricker terms "epistemic injustice"—the systematic diminishment of certain individuals' capacity to contribute to collective knowledge and understanding based on aspects of their identity. This injustice harms not merely the individuals directly affected but humanity collectively, as it squanders human potential that might otherwise contribute to solving our shared challenges. We cannot know how many potential solutions to cancer, climate change, or social conflict remain undiscovered because those who might have developed them lacked educational opportunity. As theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking observed, "Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change." In our rapidly evolving world, universal education represents not merely an individual right but a collective necessity for human adaptation and flourishing.

Conclusion

If granted the hypothetical power to change one aspect of our world, the transformation of education into a truly universal right and reality would represent the most profound leverage point for positive change across multiple dimensions of human existence. This choice acknowledges education's unique role as both intrinsically valuable for human flourishing and instrumentally powerful for addressing other global challenges. The vision of universal quality education is neither utopian nor impractical—it represents an achievable goal requiring primarily the political will, resource allocation, and sustained commitment that we routinely mobilize for other priorities.

The UNESCO constitution begins with the recognition that "since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defenses of peace must be constructed." This profound insight applies equally to our other collective challenges. Climate solutions, pandemic responses, economic systems, and social arrangements all begin in human minds and depend fundamentally on what those minds know, value, and imagine possible. By transforming education—the systematic development of human capabilities—we enhance our collective capacity to address all other aspects of human existence. In choosing education as the one thing to change, we choose not a single solution but the enhancement of humanity's capacity to develop solutions across all domains of concern. We choose, in essence, to improve how humanity learns, adapts, and creates possibilities previously unimagined—the most fundamental change from which countless others might flow.

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