Maroon Weekly

By Teddy Wilson

Asking whether or not the government should provide a public education system may seem like asking whether or not the government should provide roads and hospitals. The public education system has become an essential part of our country and debating whether or not the government should have a role in providing public education is a hypothetical ideological argument. The public education system is one of the main reasons why the United States has prospered economically and without the public education system the United States would not be the flourishing country that it is today.

All societies have had an education system in one form or another, however, the idea of a formal education system which is the responsibility of the government is a relatively new concept. The first public education systems were created in Eastern Europe and then later took root in the United States. Functionalist sociological theory argues that the education system accomplishes socialization, occupational training and social control. Our public education system serves all of those purposes and because public schools are controlled on a local level the way in which those goals are achieved is suited for that particular community.

America led the world in creating a universal public education system in the 19th century and by the early 20th century a public education system had been established to would help lead America into economic prosperity. It is no coincidence that as the American education level began to rise, so did economic prosperity. After WWII, the original Montgomery G.I. Bill provided an education for thousands of military veterans and was one of the major factors in creating the middle class.

The public education system is a necessity if we are to believe that America actually provides equal opportunity to all. Without a public education system, there would not be an equal opportunity for every young person to obtain an education. Of course, this is without even considering the inequalities that presently exist within the system. Without a public education system the opportunities available for people to pursue financial success would be related to the affluent few who could afford private school.

The very idea that the government should not play a role in providing universal education goes against America’s own self-interest. With the emergences of a globalized economy it has become more important that young people are well educated in order to compete in the global marketplace. However, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 273,000 jobs were lost in September — 29,000 werex in state and local education.  If the United States continues to lose ground to other countries in educating our young people and continues to reduce spending on education then we are going to find it difficult to compete and remain an economically prosperous nation.

Providing universal public education is an important role of the government and it is one of the keys to our prosperity as a country.