Currently, I am about half way done reading David McCullough's biography of John Adams. According to McCullough, Adams was a staunch advocate for public education. McCullough writes, "Finally and emphatically, he [Adams] urged the widest possible support for eduction." McCullough then quotes from Adams influential work,Thoughts on Government, "'Laws for the liberal education of youth, especially for the lower classes of people, are so extremely wise and useful that to a humane and generous mind, no expense for this purpose would be thought extravagant'" (103).
Adams had it right over 200 years ago. Education is a pillar of society and a great equalizer. As Adams argued, people are not born equal (Adams differed from Jefferson and others on this point - he understood that birth is a 'lottery' - rich, poor, 'lucky', 'unlucky'), but that people should be treated equally and given equal opportunity. McCullough writes on page 224 that, "He [Adams] did not believe all men were created equal, except in the eyes of God, but that all men, for all their many obvious differences, were born to equal rights." Adams felt that one of those rights ought to be to a public education - and in particular equal access to an education.
No matter what you think of the role, significance and responsibilities of teachers, parents, school administrators and students themselves - Don't all of our children deserve to have an equal opportunity to learn? Don't all of our children deserve access to the tools that will help them learn?
We strongly believe that all children deserve equal access to a quality education and we desperately want to help give every student the tools that will enable them to learn!
No comments:
Post a Comment