The US should Ensure Access to Quality Education For Everyone

Thank you for allowing me the privilege of debating this topic with you.My opponent starts out with:You are all straight A students, I'm sure. You may or may not work hard to achieve this; that's irrelevant. The fact is that no matter how hard you work, education levels are almost always determined only by how rich you are. I didn’t know you would know our academic records. Now, I’m a little paranoid j/k. The quoted argument above is completely absurd. Let’s imagine a world where everyone is “rich” and can send their kids wherever they desire to obtain the world’s best education. Even in such a utopia those who refuse to learn, to put in the time and effort required, would not higher education levels; such fools would fail. I don’t think effort is at all irrelevant to how far someone goes in their education. A total lack of effort wouldn’t result in an education but rather a waste of time and money.You say education levels are “almost always” determined by wealth. So, in what circumstances isn’t it determined by how rich you are? You’re not exactly consistent on this point.Next pro argues:Suppose your had little money. You are very smart, but due to your family's financial situation, you are forced to attend a public school. Enter the Fool, as we will call him. His family is rich, and can afford to send him places you yourself can't go. Instead of going to a public school, he is sent to a private boarding school in Switzerland. He promptly starts bullying, abusing his rights, and not learning a bit; he can do this with little consequences, because his parents are major benefactors to the school board. After all, if we see what the board is thinking, we would simply see... ka-ching!I don’t see how the rich getting a good education bars the non-rich from also achieving that goal. True, it may not be as easy to obtain but nothing worth attaining is. This argument is little more than jealousy; if the poor placed as much effort in finding ways to educate themselves as they do whining about their circumstances perhaps education levels would be equal. Your resolution is to ensure access to quality education for everyone. How would this goal be attained? Would you prevent rich people from higher education goals or subsidize the poor to be on equal footing? What exactly are you proposing? I don’t see how racial de-segregation reaches your goal. St. Louis is one of the most de-segregated public school system (still using busing) and yet the education outcomes are still poor in the city. The only part of your conclusion I agree with is that Education is related to knowledge. Conclusion:The 10th amendment states that, “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” Nowhere in the Constitution is the Federal government granted the power over education nor the responsibility to ensure it for all Americans. So on the Constitutional level, I’d have to argue that, no, the US (Federal) should not ensure access to quality education and that it would be the states responsibility or even more important the individual’s. Ensuring access to quality education for everyone in the US would be prohibitively expensive. If history has taught us anything, it’s that when we try to ensure equality we end up with everyone brought down to the lowest common denominator. I look forward to your reply. Sources: [1] http://www.archives.gov...