EDUCATION AS AN EQUALIZER
by Cheryl Lacey, ©2020
(Jun. 9, 2020) — Imagine if everyone in the world were given $100. That would be equality. People could choose to spend, save or invest that $100 as they wished. That would be fairness.
We have a right to free, compulsory primary education. This is equality. To exercise that right – to learn and become educated at primary level and beyond – is a choice. This is fairness.
We all have the right to make choices and to act of our own free will. This is equality. To take responsibility for the choices we make is another choice. This is fairness.
Imagine a world where free and compulsory primary education has been removed. Instead, everyone in the world has been given $100, and can choose to spend it on education. I wonder how many would.
Education – whether it be local, distance, online or face-to-face – is available to all of us. The problem in education lies in its inaccuracies, particularly with regard to the history of equality and fairness, and its impact on the world today.
Is it fair to say that addressing these inaccuracies would bring the equality we are striving for?
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Family
I am a white indigenous Australian, the descendant of a Roman Catholic, liberal (Republican) voting, businessman and an English Protestant, labor (Democrat) voting, mother. Clearly, my parents are attracted to a different sex. My partner descended from African and French Creole lineage. After serving his country in the US military, he became a dual citizen USA/Australia before migrating from Perth to Melbourne. My eldest daughter is a Thai immigrant, the result of adoption, and my youngest daughter is a Hong Kong Chinese immigrant, the result of adoption.
Must we all be silenced for fear of discriminating? Or, are we simply an Australian family – each of us with different backgrounds to honour, learn from, celebrate and grow beyond?