‘Unequal results are justified if everyone has an equal opportunity to
succeed' (Lynch 1995:11)
The American propaganda released into the
media, aims to increase public school funding to regional average in Oklahoma. This
was a campaign against HOPE (Helping Oklahoma Public Education), concentrating on
the funding towards students not the ‘over paid’ teachers. During this period,
Oklahoma was a low socioeconomic area with a low cost of living. The wages in
the state were low; the community was struggling to afford the normal standard
of living. Basic necessities like education was expensive, parents could not
afford it.
Gewirtz (1998) stresses the ‘equality of
opportunity’[1] and
how it does support the equality of rights, access and participation. Similarly,
the campaign against HOPE and Gewirtz (1998) draw upon the ideas of equality of
education needed for all.
Education and schools played a major role
in society, without the acknowledgement of any education individuals was looked
down upon. Equality of education and attaining education was crucial in
society. Education opened many doors for individuals; better life, wealth,
success. But with the inequity of education like the Oklahoma society was
experiencing, individuals will feel disempowered. Lynch (1995) states, without
equal opportunities, the likeliness to succeed is low[2].
In comparison to today’s outlook on
education, education may be seen as a commodity. It’s funny how education is
equal for all today and is now seen as a commodity and when it was restricted
it was a necessity in life.
In Suli Breaks YouTube video, ‘Why I hate school
but love education || Spoken words’, he addresses the idea of education seen as
a commodity; to gain power, success and increase your possibilities of
attaining employment. I to an extent agree with Breaks, my family forced
education onto me, telling me ‘I need it’. ‘But why?’ They replied with ‘to
become successful and wealthy in the future’. Is this really the purpose of
education? Education has now become filling students’ heads in with information
as well as regurgitating the work of others. I agree with this, especially from
my experiences in school, the work I had in school was strongly based on the
skill of memorization and reiterating what was read. Breaks lists experiences
all students can relate to, like the personal accounts of walking into classes
half asleep, ‘zombie’ students handing in assignments and having ‘all-nighters’.
He finishes with the question of ‘at the end of the day what is it all for? Not
for happiness or a piece of paper, but a job’. Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and Opera
Winfrey, all famous, all multi billions did not attain high levels of education
but still managed to be ‘educated individuals. It makes me wonder sometimes, do
I need to study to become educated? Do I need a degree to determine my career?
What has the outlook on education become? Is
it a commodity? What is it really for?
[1] Gewirtz, S. (1998),
Conceptualizing social justice in education: mapping the territory. Journal of
Education Policy, 13(4), 469-484.
[2] LYNCH, K. (1995) The limits of liberalism
for the promotion of equality in education. Keynote address at the Association
for Teacher Education in Europe, 20th Annual Conference, Oslo, 3-8 September.
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