Radical Hope: Education and Equality in Australia: Quarterly Essay 35

Noel Pearson argues that nothing is more crucial to future success than a proper education, and that too many in our society are being left behind. He also looks critically at some of the most difficult and controversial issues. Does education for the many mean a lowering of overall standards? Can one teach empowerment?

---

In Radical Hope, one of Australia's most original and provocative thinkers turns his attention to the question of education. Noel Pearson begins with two fundamental questions- How to ensure the survival of a people, their culture and way of life? And can education transform the lives of the disadvantaged many, or will it at best raise up a fortunate few? In an essay that is personal and philosophical, wide-ranging and politically engaged, Pearson discusses what makes a good teacher and recalls his own mentors and inspirations. He argues powerfully that underclass students, many of whom are Aboriginal, should receive a rigorous schooling that gives them the means to negotiate the wider world. He examines the long-term failure of educational policy in Australia, especially in the indigenous sector, and asks why it is always 'Groundhog Day' when there are lessons to be learned from the innovations now underway in the United States.
This is an essay filled with ideas and arguments and information - from a little-known educational revolutionary named Siegfried Englemann, to the No Excuses ethos and the Knowledge Is Power program, to Barack Obama's efforts to balance individual responsibility and historical legacy. Pearson introduces new findings from research and practice, and takes on some of the most difficult and controversial issues. Throughout, he searches for the radical centre - the way forward that will raise up the many, preserve culture, and ensure no child is left behind. 'It is time to ask- are we Aborigines a serious people? ...Do we have the seriousness necessary to maintain our languages, traditions and knowledge? ...The truth is that I am prone to bouts of doubt and sadness around these questions. But I have hope. Our hope is dependent upon education. Our hope depends on how serious we become about the education of our people.' NOEL PEARSON, RADICAL HOPE Noel Pearson is a lawyer and activist, and director of the Cape York Institute for Policy and Leadership. He is the author of Up from the Mission (2009).