Frederick Douglass and personal responsibility for education

Frederick Douglass

How come our children can't, with all the available libraries, television programs (educational ones), museums, and the Internet? I guess what I am wondering is if we are too dependent on the government to educate our kids, or is it just easier to blame the government? Anyone have any thoughts?

First of all, it is an inaccuracy to say that children 'can't' get an education today. Many children can and do, and not simply the wealthiest members of our society. The impressive success of many poor and wealthy students alike in the 'magnet' or elite public schools systems of the land like Bronx Science within the New York City Public School system, are testimony to the fact that neither poverty nor riches are guarantees of educational success. Also, Harvard University has said many times that it could fill its incoming class many times over with successful and qualified applicants. In short, some children are clearly actively using the opportunities that are available to them, or creating opportunities where they do not exist.

Good schools, involved parents, and a variety of enrichment opportunities are aids to education. Almost every person can remember a good teacher, a seminal visit to a museum or city, or just an educational experience that changed their life. The lesson of Frederick Douglass is not that there should be fewer opportunities to be educated, as Douglass himself fought for expanded literacy, but that students should not assume, simply because they do not have the best available educational opportunities while they are growing up, that a good education is impossible. It may simply take more effort on their parts.