Discussion Questions -Chapter 1

Chapter 1 Discussion Questions

1 - In a discussion about public schools in India, Blake and Blake talk about people abandoning the public school system, “Poor lower class, illiterate parents who desperately wish their children to become literate are paying cripplingly heavy sums to send their children to newly opened private schools – called “public” schools in the British tradition – particularly if the language of instruction is English”(p.5).What implications would this type of practice have for any country in which a poor system of public education leads to increased privatization of schooling and/or a rise in “for-profit” schools?

The idea that a country's public school system is so terrible that access to quality schooling is limited by wealth, is frightening. Education then becomes a privilege, available only to a limited socio-economic class. However, is this really any different from what occurs in our own state and across our country? We all are aware of districts where parents choose to pull their children from the the local public schools when they are not satisfied with the education provided. Furthermore, people choose not to live in areas with poor public schools. When looking for a new house, the first question usually asked of a realtor is, "What are the schools like?" In addition, we all know about districts, where parents cannot afford to put their children in private school, nor can they move to a different town or city with a "better" school. Instead, they are forced to send their children to underfunded schools, with minimal resources. It makes me think of the work of Jonathon Kozol, who vividly describes the "savage" conditions of public schools in areas often adjacent to the wealthiest school districts in the country. What then, is the answer? Do the "public" really see the importance of a quality public educational system? Is it not best for all children to have access to free, quality education? Wouldn't it make sense take the time to work and improve a public system already in place? Or, if given the opportunity, is it easier just to abandon it all together?



2. Do you think literacy is 'the most important struggle we face today?'

This question was brought up in response to Blake and Blake's opening statement in Chapter 1,
"The goal of worldwide literacy is probably the most important struggle we face today" (Blake & Blake, 2005, p.1). The class discussion followed, "Would a starving person choose a book or a sandwich?" I think the problem goes even further - why do people end up in that position in the first place? We all know that poverty and education are linked. But is education all people need to break the poverty cycle? If the person chose the book over the sandwich, would he/she really be able to buy his/her own sandwich one day? Or, is there a power structure in place that ensures that some people go hungry? People with little or no education are usually forced to take low paying, dead-end jobs with little opportunity for advancement. Low pay often leads to long hours or second jobs which allows little or no time to devote to independently advancing one's own education. I agree with one of my classmate's statements that we have to do more than give people the choice - a sandwich or a book, we have to acknowledge the deficits in a system that allows people to be starving in the first place.