The on equal terms in the economic system

The goals of public education are” a product of what people believe schooling should do for the good of society”(Spring, 2013, p. 5).  Public schoolswant children to get an education and be prepared for the work world.  It was believed that not all students thatattended public school would all be just as wealthy as one another.  It only makes sense that having an equal opportunityfor education starts with the base of a high school diploma.  Some students may even become wealthier with ahigh school diploma than an individual that went to college and got a degree.  Not all students are able to attend collegeand higher their education and even get a higher paying job than those that didnot attend college.  During the 1830s, Horace Mann referred toschools as the “ great balance wheel of society” (Spring, 2013, p.

66).  As Spring mentions, to avoid elitism, ThomasJefferson suggested that education could provide an equal opportunity for allnon- slave citizens to gain political office (p. 12).  Thomas Jefferson did own enslaved Africansand later denied U. S. citizenship to Native Americans. (Spring, 2013, p.

67).  Thomas Jefferson’s plan to reform theeducation system did not happen.  Hewanted all non- slave children to get three years of free education, the mosttalented of these children would be selected and educated at public expense, and of these selected group of children, the most talented were to be chosenfor further education (Spring, 2013, p. 12).

Debateabout equality of opportunity is centered on three major models; Common SchoolModel, Sorting Machine Model, and the High- Stakes Testing Model.  In the Common School Model, everyone receivesan equal and common education.  Withthis, children from all social backgrounds attend school where they receive aneducation that will prepare them to compete on equal terms in the economicsystem (Spring, 2013, pp. 68- 69).  Afterchildren complete school, they all will not be able to have an equalopportunity in continuing their education. Some students will not have the same support as they did with publicschooling, so it is up to them and their economic status if they are willingand able to continue their education or go out into the working world.  In the Sorting Machine Model, the schoolattempts to overcome the influence of family background.  With this, equality of opportunity isguaranteed by impartial decisions of teachers, counselors, and standardizedtests (Spring, 2013, p.

70).  “ Unlike thecommon school model, students receive unequal and different educations.  Some students graduate with vocationaltraining while others prepare to enter college” (Spring, 2013, p. 70).

Thisallows all students to learn at their own pace and get the proper schoolingappropriate for their abilities.  In theHigh- Stakes Testing Model, a variation on the sorting –machine model. Withthis, a “ high- stakes test” refers to an achievement examination thatdetermines a person’s future academic career and job opportunities (Spring, 2013, p. 72).  Everyone in this settingmust have equal opportunity to learn and be tested.  In conclusion, all students inpublic schools have equal opportunity to learn as a base of their education andgoing into the working world.

Everychild needs to be taught at their own pace and appropriately according to theirability.  No student should be left out, and all students should be treated equally because they all deserve equality ofopportunity.  Schools have no controlover students after graduation, but they can at least help students realizethat every single one of them have the opportunity to higher their educationand get a good job.