British State Schools: Selective Education
Figure 1.--The concerns expressed over privlidge are important and a matter of concern. Such discussions often run up against the simple fact that people are different with different aptitudes and abilities. We provide special programs to talented musicians and atheletes, should not special prpgrams be provided to academically talented children? The concern over private schools is that peope with money can give their children advantages through private education, some would call it an unfair advantage.
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The idea of testing the children at age 11 and basing a child's future on a single test it seems to us is a subject of considerable importance, but separate from the basic issue of selective education. We would prefer a discussion more in terms of measurable academic benefits, but the issue of selection and privilge is one that has to be addressed. The concerns expressed over privlidge are important and a matter of concern. Such discussions often run up against the simple fact that people are different with different aptitudes and abilities. We provide special programs to talented musicians and atheletes, should not special prpgrams be provided to academically talented children? The concern over private schools is that peope with money can give their children advantages through private education, some would call it an unfair advantage. That of course is true and a concern. But the issue is much larger. There are state school districts in affluent neighborhoods that provide a better education than schools in inner-city schools. There are also parents who insist their children do their home-work and provide a home enviroment that favors education. These are all advantages that might be considered unfair. The problem with those who want to elimate uch advantages is that their remmedies are often to reduce the quality of education for the privlidged with obvious adverse consquences for the society as a whole. A great many Britons who have made major contributions have come from the public schools or grammar schools. Some might say that a system with less privlidge would simplt mean that in the future such contributions would be made by a wider swath of society. Others would argue that the result may very well be that there woukld be fewer important contributins by a less well educated population.
