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Originally Posted by MTVN
No but he was given 2 years to live at the age of 21. He's now 70.
It's about offering equality of opportunity though, with private schooling causing such immobility between class and income levels it essentially means that such things are often decided by birthright, and not by effort or by ability.
If David Cameron had not been born into privilege and been lucky enough to go to Eton which allowed him to then go on to Oxford, would he be in the position he is today? Possibly but it's unlikely. The current cabinet is full of people who either went to a public school or who went to Oxbridge, in fact out of all the Prime Ministers under the current Queen only three have not gone to Oxford. You might say anyone can go to Oxford if they work hard enough and it's true to an extent, and to their credit Oxford has been doing more to allow those from State schools to get a place there, but still it is the case that private school kids are four times more likely to get straight A's at A-level. To add to this here's an article from the Guardian that shows that "Fewer than 1% of the poorest university students in England go to Oxford and Cambridge"
I don't begrudge anyone for sending their kids to a private school, and I can understand why you did it and where you're coming from, I just think it's more fair that everyone should carry out their education from the same starting point, so that it really does reward hard work and effort, and not birthright. Perhaps I'm too idealistic in thinking that but that is my view anyway |
I know exactly where you are coming from. I searched long and hard for a state school that I would be happy for my kids to attend, but in those days you had to live in certain catchment areas and I was offered the worst school in my area and it was my only offer. That is what prompted me to look at the private option and both my sons won scholarships based on academic ability. Most private schools today still offer scholarships to those who cannot afford to pay the fees.
You will know that virtually every Labour MP hypocritically sent their own children to private schools, whilst advocating state schools for the masses. I doubt there's a single one of them that doesn't have private health care. So much for a fair and equal society and THEIR faith in state education and the NHS. "Do what I say, not do what I do" was the motto of the Labour Party.
There are a lot of excellent state schools, but in my day I did not have the option of choosing which one my children attended, since I could not afford to move out of the catchment area I was in. Like any good parent, I wanted the best for my children and I make no apology for choosing the private option. If I had the money I would also invest in private medical care. I am currently in the middle of a medical negligence claim against the hospital that treated my brother who recently died of cancer. He was treated abysmally and I want someone to acknowledge that, accept blame and apologise. The NHS is an utter shambles and it's about time we adopted the American system of medical health insurance which would ensure a better quality of care than what we have now.
People who bang on about social equality are usually the first ones to take full advantage of private schooling and private healthcare when they can afford it. I would never presume to remove freedom of choice from people as to how they spend their disposable income.