Photo by Aaron
Burden on Unsplash
26 Educate everybody?
Education was presented
last week as the redemptive function of prison. It is most
effective in a nurturing environment. Will implementing that
upgrade make people on the outside jealous? Not if their own
needs are being met. We readily share what we have, making
the whole society better off. The plea for uplifting education
applies universally.
American free public
education aimed at employability and socialization.
Citizens learned necessary life skills. Aristotle taught
“All who have meditated on the art of governing mankind have been
convinced that the fate of empires depends on the education of
youth.” Abraham Lincoln observed “The philosophy of the school
room in one generation will be the philosophy of government in
the next.”
Of course, genuine
education is not limited to classrooms. Learning is also provided
in the family, trade schools, job training, apprenticeship,
self-education and other settings. We must not ignore or neglect
any of those resources. Our tools encompass everything
uplifting.
As life becomes more
complex, the education path becomes longer on both ends,
preschool and graduate education. Traditional systems are
challenged to reach today’s goals. Democracy requires that an
enlightened electorate must not be limited to those born to
privilege. Fairness cries for equal access in realizing
(that is meeting and fulfilling) all students’ needs and
aptitudes.
When a beehive needs a new queen, the
workers produce one or more queens by selective feeding of
larvae. If society needs more doctors, it produces more by
selecting and educating the candidates who will perform well. It
is a benefit to society at large and therefore an obligation of
society at large. The principle works best when the selection is
by aptitude and not by wealth.
The above goal can be approached in two
ways: (a) all education is free; (b) all candidates have equal
wealth. Closer examination reveals that these are two expressions
of the same principle. They differ in the labels we
put on the components. Label (a), free education, can be
implemented by the next election. Label (b), wealth equality,
will probably occupy the rest of my life teaching. Stay
tuned!
Being For Others Blog copyright © 2020 Kent Busse
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