Educational Discrimination

This post was adapted from something that I had previously written.

Here in America, we can get into trouble for discriminating based on race, gender, religion, disability, and age. However, it is perfectly acceptable to discriminate against someone for learning in the wrong way.

The biggest source of educational discrimination comes from the job market. Employers frequently require schooling for the most simplistic tasks. If you learn independently instead of in the strict schooling environment, you will discover that it is difficult to find a job.

There is no job in existence that can’t be learned outside of the schooling environment. Some educational resources are not accessible to the average person. I can bend a bit for jobs such as those in the medical profession. They are not exactly going to give a cadaver to anyone who wants one. I can understand this, but I feel that this can be addressed in the future. For example, virtual approaches to medical experience could be developed.

Those without high school diplomas are frequently stereotyped. Since schooling is associated with intellect, those without school are assumed to be less intelligent. This is not a valid assumption. In fact, mental development is a valid reason to drop out. Some of these supposedly deficient individuals may in fact be among the strongest in terms of mental ability.

Educational discrimination clearly works against the concept of educational freedom. It places pressure on self-educated individuals to hand over their educational needs and responsibilities to the schools. The schools do not meet their needs, reducing the quality of education that these people receive.

The bottom line is that society looks down on those who choose education over schooling. For this reason, people generally abandon their educational needs and conform to a flawed standard. If we want educational freedom, we need to put an end to educational discrimination.