Equal Education

“Let us not choose a career in thoughts of personal advance, but choose a career based on talents and aptitude.” This is the part of our school’s motto. I think my school, Korean Minjok Leadership Academy, is doing a good job in terms of the ideal educational system that Malcom Gladwell is dreaming of in his fourth episode, “Carlos Doesn’t Remember.” Our school selects 150 talented and potential ones among the students throughout the whole nation each year, provides them appropriate, high-quality education which suits them in order to open a better future. However, Malcom is also aware of those students who are as talented as the ones who are recognized talented, but are not provided high-quality education due to lacking advocates. He thinks that our educational system has to play a better job selecting gifted students from the very beginning. I totally agree with his idea, but I have another point of view that people should also consider seriously.

If more talented students get selected and receive better education, what happens to all the other students who are “less talented?” Some people might think there is nothing to worry about because “less talented students” do not have any qualification for good quality education and they are the ones who need to learn from the very basics. However, the reality is that as the interest in education is excessively concentrated to smarter students, good teachers are all placed in the “smart students teaching” education. In other words, less smart students would have to study with less prestigious teachers.

I think the irony exists here. If the purpose of separating students based on their talents is to accelerate talented students and help boost less smart ones’ potential, they should both receive high-quality education. Just leaving unselected students ignorantly does not change the quality of education, quality of the whole students in the future, and the quality and level of our society in long term.

In order to achieve the goal of “prestigious education,” we should provide the quality of education equally among students. I do not mean that we should not separate the students based on levels. We have to provide high quality of education to each group of students that best suits each level of talents. Smarter ones would be smarter, and less smart ones will get the opportunity to sow and boost their gifted potential one day.

This is how we can realistically accomplish “equal education” in our society.