We rarely hear from those without a college education. Typically, our internet spaces and publications are filled with the musings of those who have a bachelor’s degree or higher. Considering this, poll responses can express many of the opinions of those who less frequently have a platform to speak.

Recently, Harper Polling did a poll in North Carolina that posed this question:

Now thinking about the issue of education...The North Carolina Opportunity Scholarship Program provides government-funded vouchers of up to $4,200 to low and moderate-income students that can be applied to tuition at a private school of their parents’ choice. In 2020 over 12,000 students participated in this program. Do you favor or oppose the opportunity scholarship program?

And participants could respond with: “Strongly favor / Somewhat favor / Strongly oppose / Somewhat oppose / Unsure or Refused.”

Not surprisingly, as recent trends have shown, the majority of the people were in favor of this scholarship. When broken down by demographics, a high majority of BIPOC families also favored an opportunity for more school options. But perhaps the most interesting demographic breakdown was the number of people with no college attendance. 77.54% of people with no college attendance were in favor of the scholarship, and 76.49% of people with some college or technical school (no four-year degree) were in favor of the scholarship. But, in contrast, only 56.62% of respondents with postgraduate degrees supported the program.

How fascinating! The people who most likely struggled with the education system in America are the ones who desire something different for their children! Those who sailed through see less need for reform.

Maybe some of these respondents experienced the inability of traditional public schools to accommodate their learning styles or needs for individualized instruction. Maybe others faced bullying, peer pressures, etc. that they could not escape. Or maybe they were interested in pursuing something other than higher education, and they see the need for specialized tracts in education. The variations on individual stories could be endless. But whatever the case, one thing is clear - A significant portion of people who did not finish high school or who did not go to college want policy change! They don’t want to be pigeon-holed into a single, assigned school.

Education policy tends to be set by people with high levels of formal education - people for whom the current system is likely to have worked. But shouldn’t we be open to the perspectives of the people who the system hasn’t worked for? Who likely experienced schools at the bottom of the barrel but who dream of something better? 

A common argument for not listening to this group or against giving families more choices in their children’s education (like the Opportunity Scholarship) is the belief that “less educated people” cannot navigate the process of more school options. This belief leads to the attitude that those with less education should bend to the expertise of the well-educated and “just send their children to the assigned school.” 

Even now, reading this poll, some might argue that “less educated people will make less educated choices for their children.” This idea, inferring that wanting more school choice is the “less educated opinion,” is elitist and condescending. What does it communicate to families who feel like their opportunities are limited? It is disempowering. In fact, it is controlling and stinks of oppression.

Instead, if we wish to keep the American Dream alive and well, we must listen to those who have been the least well-served by the current system and to those who seek upward mobility for their families. Right now, those without high levels of formal education have little faith in assigned schools for the next generation. Their responses show they believe equal opportunity looks more like the Opportunity Scholarship. It’s time to stop forcing families whom the current system has failed to accept a repeated negative experience for their children.