Can Equal and Quality Coexist?

We want an equal and quality education for our children, school board candidates love to chant, whether representing or running for office.

Can the two values coexist? Can our leaders press ahead for equality while promoting quality?

Let's define equality.

Equality of opportunity means that some students will succeed, and other students will fail. Sometimes, though, failure is the best lesson, one which drives students away from poor choices, closed doors, and fruitless opportunities toward better options in the future.

Equality of opportunity rests on the premise that no matter what the students' background, young people can succeed with the right encouragement, with inspiration which lifts a man to look beyond himself and his circumstances.

Equality of opportunity leaves the possibilities wide for everyone, and releases the responsibilities to people with more insight and capacity than school officials.

Equality of results turns into a race into the bottom, in which communities with more wealth see their resources taken to poorer communities, just because the students come from low-income families.

School superintendents with any sense or respect will assert that good students come from families where the parents expect their children to go to school. Not the amount of money, but cultural mores drive students to succeed.

Equality of results cannot fix this problem. Individual leaders and local control make all the difference.

Quality can emerge out of equality, granted that this drive for fairness establishes opportunities for our students, not results.