Thoughts about education and the state
I think we all agree with the fact that good education is one of the main driving forces of a country towards development, but that doesn’t stop a lot of people willing to sacrifice the quality of education as long as it is for free (not having to pay for it). The reason why so many people always support this is evidently due to the fact of not having to pay for it, but not because public education is of better quality than private education.
In addition, it is often said that the State is the only one with the capacity to build large numbers of schools and universities, as if that were true or as if the quality of an education depended on the number of institutions built. Being sensible, can an education that is not free (controlled) be fair and of good quality? Let's see an example below.
Imagine a State that declares itself openly Catholic and promotes this religion for its citizens. We can decide to impart education inspired by the ideas and values of Catholicism. What choice will an evangelical, a Muslim or an atheist have if they want an education but do not share Catholic ideas? None, they simply will be unfairly disadvantaged.
But fairness is not the only important thing in education, it is also the quality of it, and this will depend on the values and principles that are promoted in their classrooms because they are the ones that determine the behavior of the citizens. Can an education whose values and principles are imposed by the State be of quality? In my opinion, there is too much risk that the answer can end up being no in too many places.
The biggest risk that runs in a system in which the State exercises a monopoly on education is that said education could never be free (controlled) and independent. There can be no such thing as any kind of autonomy if the State is the one that decides what is taught and how many resources are invested in education.
In a country where the State maintains a monopoly on education, private education can not be cheaper than public education because it is in disadvantage. Public education is subsidized while private education must be governed by the law of supply and demand. In addition, citizens are left at the mercy of a system that leaves the doors open for a totalitarian government to use its control over education to indoctrinate society, as in Cuba and my country Venezuela.
To expect that the education provided by the State to be of good quality without having to pay for it what it is worth, is the same as expecting to have the car of our dreams while pretending that the parents pay for it.
When a society gives the State power over education, it can not expect to receive the knowledge it wants. Nothing is better than having the possibility of choosing between different options and being able to decide the one that suits us as if it were different brands of the same product, and that can only happen in a country where education is free (not controlled) and does not depend on a ministry that imposes its guidelines and allocates the resources.
If we want free and quality education we should stop asking the state to guarantee it, because it will do so at its convenience, not ours.
Images sources
If these titles sound interesting to you, I assure you the articles will be even better!
When defending our freedom there should be no middle ground. |
Let’s talk about anxiety and psychology |
"Today’s lesson: How drinking alcohol affects our memory?" |
I think your post is interesting, really that the State-Education relationship is a double-edged sword when the leaders do not have a broad vision of welfare and respect for citizenship.
I agree with you about the risk of having a "partial" state and ultimately the impact of this on education is negative. As a faithful example is the Venezuelan case:
Years ago we had a quality public education system, where private education was for that part of the population that had not had academic results, however the reality of now is different. We are many who seek private education for our children to ensure more education in the academic part and minimize the risks of insecurity for our children.
Still and I think that in both cases the academy continues to be sidelined. Owners of private institutions seek more profit than the quality of their graduates and public institutions do not have updated and efficient systems for their students and teachers.
For these reasons and many more I agree with what you say. I support your cause and your perspectives in the educational field.
Me parece interesante tu post, de verdad que la relación Estado-Educación es un arma de doble filo cuando los mandatarios no tienen una visión amplia del bienestar y respeto por la ciudadanía.
Estoy de acuerdo contigo sobre el riesgo que se corre al contar con un estado "parcializado" y en definitiva las repercusión de esto en la educación es negativa. Como fiel ejemplo está el caso venezolano:
Hace años atrás contábamos con un sistema educativo público de calidad, donde la educación privada quedaba para aquella parte de la población que no había tenido resultados académicos, sin embargo la realidad de ahora es diferente. Somos muchos los que buscamos la educación privada para nuestros hijos para garantizar más formación en la parte académica y minimizar los riesgos de inseguridad para nuestros hijos.
Aún así y considero que en ambos casos la academia sigue quedando de lado. Los dueños de instituciones privadas buscan más el lucro que la calidad de sus egresados y las instituciones públicas no cuentan con sistemas actualizados y eficientes para sus alumnos y profesores.
Por estas razones y muchas más estoy de acuerdo con lo que dices. Apoyo tu causa y tu perspectivas en el ámbito educativo.
Thanks for your comment, public education was totally destroyed with tons of proofs about kids in public schools being indoctrinated into supporting the government and its leader. A total abuse typical of totalitarian regimes.
So is!
Recently I wrote a post pointing out the weaknesses of the education system (this time the affected one was one of my children), it is incredible how the distortions that a teacher makes of the teaching and learning methods and even more the evaluation ones can affect the self-esteem of a child and the desire to improve.
Así es!
Hace poco escribí un post señalando las debilidades del sistema educativo (ésta vez el afectado fue uno de mis hijos), es increible como las distorsiones que un docente haga de los métodos de enseñanza y aprendizaje y aún más las evaluativas pueden afectar el autoestima de un niño y las ganas de mejorar.
How about countries like Norway where education is practically free? They seem to have a system that works. Most universities/schools over there are of reasonably high quality.
In addition, most (all?) western states have a separation of church and state so the influence of religion is not that strong on schools.
There are countries in which the government acts responsible and it is all good, Scandinavia being a great example, but that is not the case every time. There will always be risks consisting on them using this power over society to somehow manipulate the way they think.
About Scandinavia, in the case of Finland, I have read about a vouchers system that works similarly to how a free market would work. Not sure about Norway, but either way, there are "good" governments regarding public education. The problem is when a "bad" one takes advantage of it, which is a risk that will always be there.
If you conclude that a state funded education system can function well with a good government then it follows that the government is to blame for a bad functioning state funded education system. So then the root of the problem is the government and not the education system. Or am I overlooking something?
If the State is in control of the education, that society will always have the risk of having their education abused if a totalitarian government comes to power. If that risk is worth having is something that depends on each person's opinions. Of course, for people who have never experience any sort of abuse by their government, it is easy to develop a good level of confidence towards anything run by them.
It is the government, and the potential risk if they have total power.