Joann Park (University of Southern California) on Educational Opportunity
March 16, 2012
Does Educational Opportunity Remain the Key to Success in the United States?
News articles regurgitate the same information again and again. America is behind other
countries in education, public schools are failing, massive budget cuts are making it harder for
teachers and parents, etc..
Although the state of our educational system is bleak, educational opportunity remains the
key to success in the United States.
Whenever my colleagues and I discuss current issues—both domestic and international—we almost always come to the same conclusion. The solution to economic inequality, crime, unemployment, civic disengagement, and etc, always comes down to education.
Competant citizens are less likely to go to prison, eligible for better jobs, and more likely to vote. This means education can lessen the gap between the poor and the rich, liberate people out of poverty, and most of all, create an educated citizenry essential to a healthy liberal democracy.
The importance of education is clear, but proposing an initiative for change is not. No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top have shown it is not going to be easy to get people to prioritize education in this country. I quote the sentiments of a fellow realist, James Madison, “the masses are asses,” but then again, we could have changed their fate.
Education is not listed as one of our fundamental rights in the US constitution. The Founding Fathers actually denied Thomas Jefferson's amendment proposal that sought to set the federal government responsible for financially supporting education, thus recognizing as a fundamental right.
The Founders purposely omitted education from the constitution to leave it up to the states. However, if they saw the state of our education system now, would they have listened to Jefferson?
We need an enlightened citizenry to preserve America, but in this age of realism, what is it going to take for people to care?
Whenever my colleagues and I discuss current issues—both domestic and international—we almost always come to the same conclusion. The solution to economic inequality, crime, unemployment, civic disengagement, and etc, always comes down to education.
Competant citizens are less likely to go to prison, eligible for better jobs, and more likely to vote. This means education can lessen the gap between the poor and the rich, liberate people out of poverty, and most of all, create an educated citizenry essential to a healthy liberal democracy.
The importance of education is clear, but proposing an initiative for change is not. No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top have shown it is not going to be easy to get people to prioritize education in this country. I quote the sentiments of a fellow realist, James Madison, “the masses are asses,” but then again, we could have changed their fate.
Education is not listed as one of our fundamental rights in the US constitution. The Founding Fathers actually denied Thomas Jefferson's amendment proposal that sought to set the federal government responsible for financially supporting education, thus recognizing as a fundamental right.
The Founders purposely omitted education from the constitution to leave it up to the states. However, if they saw the state of our education system now, would they have listened to Jefferson?
We need an enlightened citizenry to preserve America, but in this age of realism, what is it going to take for people to care?
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