Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? It is easier for more people now than in the past to get an education.
The twentieth and twenty-first centuries have seen the development and advancement of many fields and areas of society. Education is an area that has developed tremendously in the past hundred years. The rise of the middle class, the standardization of education, and the opening of many more schools has made it possible for more people now than in the past to get an education.
In China specifically, education reform began with the opening up and reform period of the 1980’s. During this time China also opened up its economy and changed from a state run economy to a market economy. A market economy in China has made it possible for the development of the middle class. Historically throughout the world, education belonged to the social elites. People from the lower class, which always outnumbered the upper class, did not have the money or resources to become educated. The middle class is a group of people who are not necessarily the elites of society, but have the money to pay for education. Since the 1980’s, the middle class has been rapidly growing, increasing ten-fold the number of children who have the opportunity to get an education.
With the rise of the middle class, also comes an increase in pressure on the government. Since more people can afford education, more pressure is put on the government to provide teachers and schools for the children of the middle class. The government is then spurred into action to increase funding and resources for education nationwide. This has then prompted the opening of schools in many areas beyond the major cities and the training of many new teachers. More teachers and more schools mean that more people will be educated.
The government’s attention on education has helped with the standardization of education in China. This standardization has created nationwide tests that have made it so that every student, no matter his or her background or hometown, has the opportunity to attend high school and apply for college. Not only do more students have the opportunity to attend school, but they also have the opportunity to continue their education further than previous generations.
The rise of the middle class, the increased involvement of the government, and the standardization of education has made it so that more people, now than ever, have the opportunity to become educated. (Anna, 390 words)