by Sapphire Magpie Ravenclaw

Created on: June 29, 2008

Equality in education, in theory, is a great concept. The concept being that every child has an equal opportunity to study at school, every child has the chance to learn and every child is given the chance to fulfil their potential.

The problem with equality in education is that it appears to have been misinterpreted. It appears to me that equality in education has come to mean that every child is treated exactly the same. Every child is expected to do certain things in a certain way at a certain time. Should any child fall behind, they are labelled with a "disorder" because they are not "average". Then, there are the more able children who, while it is not always the case, can end up getting left behind because they are already above average and therefore it is assumed that they need no help to reach their potential.

Of course, it is not always possible to teach each child separately and individually but making each child equal, often at the detriment of those more capable, should not happen. It is not fair on those "below average" because they feel like they are wrong. They are not equal and are being picked out for it. Extra help for them to reach their potential is fantastic although some children are just not capable of certain things. Then the "above average" children are not encouraged to reach their potential because that would make everyone even less "equal".

If separate classes dependent on ability are viable then they should be encouraged. There should be equality in education in that every child should have equal opportunity. Mixing abilities might mean that this is not possible and it is not right that a group of children of varying abilities should all be forced to be "average" because little or no provision is made for the fact that people are not equal.

There are many areas of education, especially in the formative years of schooling. Some children will experience ease and others will experience difficulty in a range of subjects. I feel it can be particularly distressing for those near to the ends of the spectrum. That is to say that classes are taught on the basis of an "average" child. This can leave the below average children behind and discourage the above average from pursuing opportunities to further their learning as they get bored.

Sometimes it can be difficult when a child differs in only one or two subjects. By this I mean that, for example, a bright child may excel in core subjects and then not do so well in another subject. This child may be expected to excel because they have done in other subjects. When they do not do as expected, they are not given the help they need. There is also the other extreme where a child might lack potential in a lot of areas but then will excel in one or two subjects. This may easily go unnoticed while no one is paying attention as they do not expect such a performance.

The point I am trying to make is that equality in education does not exist. Trying to make it so can become negative and it is really a bad idea to try and make everyone equal. Everyone is not equal. The best we can do in education is to give children equal opportunities but they do not all have equal potential because some are more or less capable than others. Everyone should be encouraged to reach their potential, not pushing those less able and giving those more able ample opportunity to progress further.

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