The big paradox that egalitarians can't explain and, indeed, are in a state of denial about, is that the more egalitarian you make the education system the more stratified subsequent society becomes. I was part of the working-class surge into universities that occurred when educational reforms were brought in immediately after WWII in England. However, since then, social movement from the lower classes to the upper classes has slowed down perceptibly from year to year and now, almost two generations since WWII, has largely ceased -- at least this is the situation in England and America according to several recent surveys in both countries.
I am far from suggesting that we should not have an egalitarian school system but the evidence is now becoming very clear that genes are at least as important as environment in the final outcome of an individual's educational career -- whether we are talking of state or private schools. This is a problem that will not go away, and will become sharper from year to year as the technological level of modern society rises. In England, we have now reached the stage where throwing more and more money at the educational system will not alter the outcome in any way at all. What's needed now is more objective thought about the problem and less of the ideology that has held almost complete sway in educational circles for the past 50 years. >From today's Daily Telegraph (excerpt): <<<< ONE IN FOUR STUDENTS FAILS TO STAY THE COURSE John Clare Education Editor Nearly a quarter of the students who enrol at university and higher education colleges leave without taking a degree. Of the 284,000 UK students who ought to have graduated this summer, 65,000 -- 23% -- failed to do so, raising questions about the government's drive to encourage an even greater proprotion of school-leavers into higher education. Although some of the students moved to other institutions or switched to sub-degree courses, the Higher Education Funding Council, which publishes the figures yesterday, said that about 50,000 -- 17% -- dropped out altogether and had nothing worthwhile to show for the experience. While the proportion who drop out has remained steady, their numbers have increased with the rising participation rate. The funding council identified 14 universities at which at least a qarter of the students -- 10,000 in all -- were failing year after year to obtain a qualification of any kind. Embarrassingly for the government, they were the same institutions that have done most to meet its "widening access" targets by recruiting students from the lower social classes and disadvantaged backgrounds. >>>> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------ Keith Hudson, General Editor, Handlo Music, http://www.handlo.com 6 Upper Camden Place, Bath BA1 5HX, England Tel: +44 1225 312622; Fax: +44 1225 447727; mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] ________________________________________________________________________
