Learn This: An Education System that Doesn’t Divide Classes

I recently gained a better understanding of both the ideals and failings of the Great American Experiment thanks to my vantage point in Italy. To be sure, I don’t claim this as a unique or inventive discovery; indeed, it’s as embarrassing a conclusion as it is illuminating. And I came to it only after living in another country for eight years and being exposed to a different social system.

I’m referring to the simultaneous successes and failings of the U.S. system of higher education. I find myself in a somewhat uncomfortable position, being a life-long supporter of liberal politics, policies, and programs, of agreeing with a view expressed by the right end of the political spectrum.

American education has failed its economy, its youth, and its soul. The education system – inadvertently perhaps – has created social classes. Maybe we borrowed a page from our original motherland, as England has been doing this for centuries. So much for the breakaway nation of independent-minded rebels.

Looking back, we followed the same playbook as the Brits did. To the point where now at least 30 percent of the country resents the societal structure enough to cheer its  demolition. They are willing to throw the baby out with the bathwater.

It’s part of America’s DNA to value educating its citizens to be intelligent, active, and perceptive. Decades before the Revolutionary War, colonies established schools at all levels. Harvard, the country’s oldest university and the eye of today’s political tornado, was founded in 1636. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the United States has almost 4,000 degree-granting post-secondary colleges and universities – or one such institution for every 7,500 people between ages 18 and 24, the typical college-attending cohort.

Clearly, universities and colleges contribute a sizable chunk of the American economy – both directly through their operations and in building national wealth through its graduating students. Annual revenues to these institutions exceed $990 billion. Foreign students add another $44 billion to that income stream. Roughly half of foreign students in the U.S. come from just China and India, according to NAFSA: Association of International Educators.

There is nothing inherently nefarious or irresponsible about these numbers. Having an American degree has long been highly valued around the globe. Even in popular movies, the bad guy in another country proudly reveals he went to Yale or Princeton. We have offered advanced education to the world, which is not uncommendable.

However.

In the process of expanding, evolving, and exalting higher education, what did we do for our own culture? In any number of ways, we put down people who did not or could not attend college. We put highly educated people on pedestals and declared their words unquestionable. We cut out a whole segment of the population and dismissed them as hayseeds, hicks, or lazy. I must confess I’ve occasionally been guilty of holding this opinion myself.

While we raised the bar of learning, we set up hurdles for people without degrees. We made college a requirement for most jobs. We demanded transcripts proving the worth of young people. We granted people from certain colleges special status through appointments, blue-ribbon committees, task forces, and advisory groups. It’s as if having a law degree from an Ivy League school means you are a superior human being.

Parents pushed their children to go to college. High school counselors hyped the income potential. Peers mocked anyone who thought about a different path. The social cruelties of kids’ teenage years were magnified by the thought that they would be forever outcast if college was not in their plans. And now it’s all come home to roost in the twisted expressions and bitterness of MAGA people, many of whom mix into this toxic brew big doses of racism, xenophobia, and misogyny.

Over the last five years, I’ve witnessed an alternative educational approach in Europe. This one recognizes the widely differing interests, abilities, and preferences of young people as they navigate through high school. Adolescents in Italy (and other European countries) have an option that simply doesn’t exist in the U.S.

In Italy, it goes by the name liceo. It’s a form of education beyond high school that nurtures non-academic skills. It produces artisans who make products by hand. It creates artists who explore classic depiction techniques as well as state-of-the-art technologies. It produces actors, musicians, playwrights, poets, writers, designers, graphic artists, modelmakers, set designers, lighting and sound technicians, makers of clothing, toys, electronics, machinery, metalwork, housewares, cookware – in short, all the things in life that we use every day. Producing these items and refining them over time takes skill, passion, and devotion to a craft – nothing to be ashamed of. But they do not require an advanced academic degree.

I have seen this system in operation many times. The students in the liceos are sharp, attentive, and eager to share their talents. Last week, the epiphany came together in a completely unexpected way.

I attended an end-of-school-year performance of a play performed by the students of a liceo specializing in languages. The play was presented in six different languages. Original music was composed, and classic pieces were featured. Dramatic sets added to the “suspension of disbelief.” The stage play was written by one of the professors, following a year of research. Through music dance, and drama it told the true story of “La Belle Otera” – Agustina del Carmen Otero Iglesias, a Spanish actress and dancer as internationally famous and adored during the Gilded Age as Taylor Swift today.

Each student had an important role in the production, whether singing, dancing, dialog, costume-making, or providing technical support. At one point, 60 people were on stage, contributing to the action and the mise-en-scène. The voices were clear and strong. The students danced through complicated numbers with grace and polish. The storyline was riveting. I was blown away by the professional quality. These were language students, not theatrical arts students. And these young people were praised for their artistic and linguistic skills, not merely for prowess in sports, as seems to have been the American Way for at least 70 years.

Now, at the risk of blowing you away as readers, I have one more aspect to mention in the contrasting educational systems.

Italy levies no property taxes on primary homes. That’s right: if you own a home as your place of residence, you never pay a single euro in property tax. This is done to protect the middle class and elderly from being taxed out of their homes. It also means there are no school levies, no special assessments, no ways of adding tax burden on residents. It also means there are no good or bad school districts. All public schools are funded nationally and must meet national standards. Educational resources are distributed fairly and reasonably. No one gets left behind. Every chosen profession, trade, and skill set is valued for its contribution to society. The absence of class bias in the education system leads to an overall social structure that involves less class-based distinctions in the general population.

It is literally impossible for a wealthy community to give educational advantages to its children. Ponder that for a while. No favoritism, no nepotism, no legacy admissions, no tax-break donations. Equality is the cornerstone of democracy, as it should be. No school need invoke a DEI mantra because it is achieved quietly, automatically, and with conviction.

Now, I could go on blowing you away and tell you that a typical post-high school education costs a family only 800 euros per year. But I’m afraid a few heads might explode. Maybe even mine.