Is Education The Way Out of Poverty?

In light of the Gonski Review of school funding in Australia, I revisited and updated a piece I wrote whilst sitting in a New Orleans Hotel room. I’d initially written this piece as a response to what I’d witnesses in the virtually non-existent or corrupt education system in New Orleans post Hurricane Katrina. What is clear from my time in New Orleans, is that it will take a whole lot more than just money to address the gap between our richest and poorest kids.

For those born into poverty, every day is a natural disaster. Yet in this case, society often appears to turn a blind eye. The very same people who shed tears watching the aftermath of the Japanese Tsunami are the ones who cross the road to avoid the homeless. Those who ran around the office with a bucket to help the Haitian people in the wake of the earthquake that claimed 220,000 lives, are the same ones who avoid eye contact with those, who really should just go get a job.

You can read the full piece on The Huffington Post