The Myth of Equal Education

America is often enamored of itself as the champion of equality in every aspect of its society; however, this is often not the case. This is true in every aspect of life, but is very evident specifically in the American education system. Although America claims to give an equal education to all, regardless of any external factors, economic class often plays a role in what type and how good of an education a student may receive. Since education is the basis for future success, this inequity resulting from socioeconomic status implies that this is where inequality in everyday life starts, and that the system generates this inequality. If this is true, then one might ask, what then is the purpose of education? If economic class predetermines the type of education a student will receive, what purpose does it really serve? Jean Anyon, Richard Rodriguez, and Malcolm X all have differing opinions of the purpose of education. My personal experience with the education system contradicts both Rodriguez’s and Malcolm X’s opinion, that through hard work, anyone can receive an excellent education, but supports Anyon’s opinion of the purpose of education, which is that the education a student receives is directly affected by their economic class.

Although coming from diametrically opposed backgrounds, the situation and reason for Rodriguez and Malcolm X’s education is highly similar. The driving force behind each of their educations was their own personal desire to become more educated, and to have a better understanding of things. Although at first appearance, even their educations seem drastically different, they share a defining characteristic. Rodriguez was educated within the public education system, whereas Malcolm X was self-educated w...

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... Because of the extraordinary nature of their educations, Malcolm X and Richard Rodriguez view the purpose of education as giving students the opportunity to receive the best education possible regardless of surroundings, and succeed based on their drive and desire. Alternately, Jean Anyon sees the purpose of education as socioeconomic class directly affecting the quality of education received by the students, and my own personal experience agrees with this. The Myth of equal education is just that, a myth. Because of the way the system is set up, it is impossible to give every single student an equal opportunity, and impossible to make everyone’s education equal. Although there are some outstanding cases, such as Rodriguez and Malcolm X, for the most part, the quality of a student’s education and surroundings determines how much they can get out of that education.