Friday, January 21, 2011

Is Education a Civil Rights Issue?



We all just learned that civil rights are government protected rights of individuals. When we think of civil rights, we usually think about discrimination. However, on Thursday, Governor Jerry Brown called education funding a civil rights issue.

Jerry Brown believes in investing in California's education in order to provide for a better future for generations to come. But is Jerry Brown choosing education over redevelopment?

I guess the real question is, is a quality education a civil right? Is it the government's responsibility to see that every child in every district receives the same quality of education or is it the parent's responsibility because they choose to live in that district? If it is the government's responsibility to ensure that each child receives an equal education, is it then the government's responsibility to ensure that each child that wants to go to college has the opportunity to?

This is an important question for us right now because most of us are working on our FAFSA. Some of us are entirely dependant on the government funding our education. But what if we do not receive a high enough grant and we can't afford to go to the college we want to go to? Is this just a harsh reality that some people are more fortunate than others or is it the governments responsibility to make sure that each and every child that wants to go to college can 100% afford to do so?

I think that Jerry Brown needs to realize that the public school system will never be perfectly equal in every district and that he can not be a miracle worker. However, I do think that it is a good thing that he is interested and involved with the public school system.

5 comments:

Unknown said...
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Unknown said...

I find jerry brown's decision on wanting to invest more money into education a well thought idea. There are many schools around the US that don't have the necessary resources to teach their students the most up to date information. I don't find blaming it on the parents for where they chose to live because, perhaps, the parents could only afford to live where there are. The parents may desire to move but just can't, so the try to give their child the best education that is around them and it is not the best because the school isn't well funded.

I do find education to be a civil rights problem because schools in certain areas of the US and the population around them decided whether that school is going to get money or not. I feel every school should be taught the same things so every student has a fair chance in life in say, wanting to go to college, because the students that had the better education may get higher SAT scores and better grades, while the less better educated students may receive low test scores and not the best of grades. Really the government just needs to make education fair for all.

Jon L said...

Governor Brown has been quite interesting as around a week ago. He announced an unprecedented 1.4 billion cut in higher education. Not to be overly critical, but it seems if Governor Brown was sincerely interested in furthering education than the cut to UCs and CSUs would be opposite of this plan. As Bloomberg states many of the CSUs and UCs are where many of the top engineers of Silicon Valley come from. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-01-13/brown-cuts-imperil-california-dream-that-fueled-silicon-valley.html

I do believe though that education is everyone's right, on the other hand I do not feel education will ever be something everyone can get equally. Family and friends have a great impact, so unless we turn to a more totalitarian or communistic government equal education seems highly unlikely to become a reality. Redevlopment may actually have a better chance of leveling the playing field, in my opinion. I feel very few people will choose education when they are out of job. Education is the lifeblood, but at the same time it costs a lot of money.

Peter Zhan said...
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Peter Zhan said...

I believe that education, up to a certain level, is a civil right that the government should strive to protect. Even though we live in a capitalist country, there are certain fundamental principles that I believe the "American Dream" is based off of—and one of those principles, while not equal salary, is a relatively equal opportunity to make it in society. There are limits to this—wealthier families are more likely to send their children to SAT prep schools or well-funded private schools, and therefore have an advantage when it comes to higher education—but for the most part, everyone has the opportunity to receive a basic education.

To answer Jessica's original question, I believe that at least a basic education is a fundamental right, but it would be a stretch to say a quality education is a basic fundamental right—perhaps that has to be earned? But I am pretty sure that most people generally agree that helping qualified disadvantaged students receive higher education is a societal good.