Date: 2014-07-22
Content:
William Deresiewicz' impassioned essay in The New Republic in support of public education ends with this paragraph.
"High-quality public education, financed with public money, for the benefit of all: the exact commitment that drove the growth of public higher education in the postwar years. Everybody gets an equal chance to go as far as their hard work and talent will take them---you know, the American dream. Everyone who wants it gets to have the kind of mind-expanding, soul-enriching experience that a liberal arts education provides. We recognize that free, quality K--12 education is a right of citizenship. We also need to recognize---as we once did and as many countries still do---that the same is true of higher education. We have tried aristocracy. We have tried meritocracy. Now it's time to try democracy."
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