Low-cost Distance Education as Entitlement
H.G. Wells wrote an article in 1941 concerning a declaration of rights that could be part of a peace treaty at the end of World War II. Wells listed several reasonable rights, including the Right to Knowledge. This right made it “the duty of the community to equip every man with sufficient education to enable him to be as useful and interested a citizen as his capacity allows (p. 8).” Even prior to his writing this, the United States was undergoing a movement at the community level to emphasize a high school education – high school graduation rose significantly during the 20th century, as did college graduation. The goal of this grass roots education awakening was to better equip the workforce for the growing demands of the American economy. The results of the previous century could be considered a revolution in “human capital”. Yet some, such as Greville Rumble (2007) would say that the poor are neglected, low cost education should be made available to all throughout their lives, and that a tax system is needed that redistributes wealth from the rich to the poor (p.167-176).
Those living in the United States likely have a different experience from those who have lived in other parts of the world. Living in a country founded not on “majority rule” but on “protection of the minority” gives Americans a somewhat unique perspective. Whereas in the United States, every person is entitled to K-12 education, in some countries, this is not so. Whereas in the United States, there are many federal, state, and local government programs to help those who cannot afford education past high school get into a program of their choice, this is not the case in many other countries. Of course not everyone chooses to take advantage of the countless opportunities afforded them in the American system, thus accounting for a continuation of the kind of “bad lives” Rumble would like to improve via low-cost distance education. Furthermore, it is clear that Rumble fails to see the underlying truths of the American education system when he says, about the US, “where there is a high concentration of poor families, average school achievement is lower” (p. 174). The fact is that the poorest U.S. school districts typically receive more funding per student than other districts, but many of the children, and their parents, in these areas resist education outright. Distance education, or more money for traditional education, is not the solution for such students.
Having worked in the adult basic education marketplace for several years, I dealt with several private, public, and government organizations that offer educational opportunities to those lacking functional literacy, English fluency, and/or a high-school credential. And while there were many that took full advantage of these free services, there were just as many who did not, even when obstacles such as transportation, child support, and schedule were removed. And even though online education was a way that some of those barriers were removed, it was used sparingly due to the fact that, even though it was more convenient, usage of the software dropped dramatically when there was not a monitor present. In a practical sense, not everyone prescribes to Ted Honderich’s definition of a “good life,” so forcing distance education upon the masses is unlikely to “diminish inequalities” (p. 171) as Grumble would hope.
Furthermore, Honderich’s idea of a “good life,” as stated by Rumble (p. 171), has a fundamental flaw. It assumes that life is finite and that the body and mind make up a person’s entire being. Yet the majority of the world’s population assumes that life is infinite and that the nature of a person that remains viable after death is his or her spirit. In Honderich’s theory, the finite bad/good life of a person (on average 70+ years) is what matters, whereas to those subscribing to a theory of infinite life, the “good” or “bad” first 70+ years should be insignificant.
In addition, in Honderich’s theory, the aspects of life that should be made “good” would be the mind and body; therefore we should focus on mental and physical improvement. Yet for those that see the mind and body as short-lived, compared to one’s spirit, it would make more sense to focus on spiritual improvement. This would mean that Rumble’s supposition that increased education in general, and low-cost distance education in specific, is essential, would be an incorrect one.
This is not to say that education is unhelpful to people living fruitful lives, nor that education does not aid in the increase of human capital. But in general, too much emphasis is placed on the role of education in increasing human capital. Education is a gateway, or a needed credential, to employment. It is employment where one will find experiences necessary to accelerate the development of human capital. Do lawyers increase their human capital by taking continuing education, or by practicing law in courts? Do surgeons increase their human capital by taking medical classes, or by conducting surgeries on real people? I myself have learned an overwhelming majority of my useful skills from experiences during employment.
As a case study, I could examine myself to find that all or most of my instructional design, computer repair, software programming, video editing, writing, business, safety, home improvement, financial, and communication skills were developed at work or at home, not from my higher education experiences. In fact, I gained specific and general human capital from my first employer that is still in use today, but I would have a great deal of trouble determining the useful skills attained during college. At that first job, I learned instructional systems design from coworkers and eventually became highly successful at it, eventually promoted to production manager. When I hired instructional designers right out of top graduate schools, I found that I, an un-credentialed ID, needed to develop their human capital in order to make them proficient employees. Ironically, even though their higher education did not equate to better skills than mine in the workplace, it did make them more marketable than me. So while higher education can be one way to gaining an opportunity for “economic betterment,” it is neither the only means nor the primary means for increasing one’s human capital and therefore should not be the overriding influence on public policy decisions (Rumble, p. 175). Public policy should focus on incentives for business development and job creation, not providing low-cost distance education, since the workplace is the predominant locale for the improvement of human capital.
Educated individuals often migrate to countries such as the United States due to the employment opportunities found here. Employment opportunities are created via less restrictive government, lower taxes, not-redistributing wealth, and government providing fundamental services only to those most in need. Unfortunately, universal entitlements, such as low-cost distance education for all, would be more likely to create fewer employment opportunities, thus making whatever human capital could be gained from the education experience worth less.
References
Rumble, G. (2007). Social justice, economics and distance education. Open Learning: The Journal of Open and Distance Learning, 22(2), 167-176.
Wells, H. G. (1941). Bases for a lasting peace. The Rotarian, 59(3), 8-9.
Those living in the United States likely have a different experience from those who have lived in other parts of the world. Living in a country founded not on “majority rule” but on “protection of the minority” gives Americans a somewhat unique perspective. Whereas in the United States, every person is entitled to K-12 education, in some countries, this is not so. Whereas in the United States, there are many federal, state, and local government programs to help those who cannot afford education past high school get into a program of their choice, this is not the case in many other countries. Of course not everyone chooses to take advantage of the countless opportunities afforded them in the American system, thus accounting for a continuation of the kind of “bad lives” Rumble would like to improve via low-cost distance education. Furthermore, it is clear that Rumble fails to see the underlying truths of the American education system when he says, about the US, “where there is a high concentration of poor families, average school achievement is lower” (p. 174). The fact is that the poorest U.S. school districts typically receive more funding per student than other districts, but many of the children, and their parents, in these areas resist education outright. Distance education, or more money for traditional education, is not the solution for such students.
Having worked in the adult basic education marketplace for several years, I dealt with several private, public, and government organizations that offer educational opportunities to those lacking functional literacy, English fluency, and/or a high-school credential. And while there were many that took full advantage of these free services, there were just as many who did not, even when obstacles such as transportation, child support, and schedule were removed. And even though online education was a way that some of those barriers were removed, it was used sparingly due to the fact that, even though it was more convenient, usage of the software dropped dramatically when there was not a monitor present. In a practical sense, not everyone prescribes to Ted Honderich’s definition of a “good life,” so forcing distance education upon the masses is unlikely to “diminish inequalities” (p. 171) as Grumble would hope.
Furthermore, Honderich’s idea of a “good life,” as stated by Rumble (p. 171), has a fundamental flaw. It assumes that life is finite and that the body and mind make up a person’s entire being. Yet the majority of the world’s population assumes that life is infinite and that the nature of a person that remains viable after death is his or her spirit. In Honderich’s theory, the finite bad/good life of a person (on average 70+ years) is what matters, whereas to those subscribing to a theory of infinite life, the “good” or “bad” first 70+ years should be insignificant.
In addition, in Honderich’s theory, the aspects of life that should be made “good” would be the mind and body; therefore we should focus on mental and physical improvement. Yet for those that see the mind and body as short-lived, compared to one’s spirit, it would make more sense to focus on spiritual improvement. This would mean that Rumble’s supposition that increased education in general, and low-cost distance education in specific, is essential, would be an incorrect one.
This is not to say that education is unhelpful to people living fruitful lives, nor that education does not aid in the increase of human capital. But in general, too much emphasis is placed on the role of education in increasing human capital. Education is a gateway, or a needed credential, to employment. It is employment where one will find experiences necessary to accelerate the development of human capital. Do lawyers increase their human capital by taking continuing education, or by practicing law in courts? Do surgeons increase their human capital by taking medical classes, or by conducting surgeries on real people? I myself have learned an overwhelming majority of my useful skills from experiences during employment.
As a case study, I could examine myself to find that all or most of my instructional design, computer repair, software programming, video editing, writing, business, safety, home improvement, financial, and communication skills were developed at work or at home, not from my higher education experiences. In fact, I gained specific and general human capital from my first employer that is still in use today, but I would have a great deal of trouble determining the useful skills attained during college. At that first job, I learned instructional systems design from coworkers and eventually became highly successful at it, eventually promoted to production manager. When I hired instructional designers right out of top graduate schools, I found that I, an un-credentialed ID, needed to develop their human capital in order to make them proficient employees. Ironically, even though their higher education did not equate to better skills than mine in the workplace, it did make them more marketable than me. So while higher education can be one way to gaining an opportunity for “economic betterment,” it is neither the only means nor the primary means for increasing one’s human capital and therefore should not be the overriding influence on public policy decisions (Rumble, p. 175). Public policy should focus on incentives for business development and job creation, not providing low-cost distance education, since the workplace is the predominant locale for the improvement of human capital.
Educated individuals often migrate to countries such as the United States due to the employment opportunities found here. Employment opportunities are created via less restrictive government, lower taxes, not-redistributing wealth, and government providing fundamental services only to those most in need. Unfortunately, universal entitlements, such as low-cost distance education for all, would be more likely to create fewer employment opportunities, thus making whatever human capital could be gained from the education experience worth less.
References
Rumble, G. (2007). Social justice, economics and distance education. Open Learning: The Journal of Open and Distance Learning, 22(2), 167-176.
Wells, H. G. (1941). Bases for a lasting peace. The Rotarian, 59(3), 8-9.