By Tim Middleton
In most of the world’s continents, there lies a Great Divide — and in some cases there are several. This refers to the geographical lines whereby the waterways run in one direction towards one ocean or in the other direction to another ocean, depending on which side of the divide they are. So the Great Divide in the Americas sees some rivers flow towards the Pacific Ocean and others towards the Atlantic Ocean, with other divides meaning other waters had to the Arctic Ocean and others to the Caribbean.
As we have seen in a previous article how in life and in education there are Great Barrier Reefs, so we may also identify in life and education several Great Divides. In short, the Great Divide in the world is divided into the haves and the have-nots. We look around us and we divide people into those who have and those who do not have. Generally, these are identified as those who have money and those who do not have money. However, partly on account of this but also on their own account we have the haves and have-nots divided by their positions, their possessions, their privileges, their opportunities (some would even add “looks”). Some have and some do not have.
Certain things may be noted about the haves and the have-nots. The haves have to stay having because they cannot have the have-nots having what they have; they will do anything to ensure that the divide is maintained and bolstered. Very often too the have-nots accept that they will never have what the haves have. Interestingly, though, many have-nots will recognise that they are better off having not than the haves who have what they think the have-nots will want to have; the have-nots are often more content than the haves, as they are glad their river runs down on their side of the mountain. As a result, because we have the haves and the have-nots so we also have the hates and the hate-nots. The hate-nots strangely tend to identify with the have-nots.
Having said all that, we can note that education also has the haves and have-nots. Obviously some of such division may be seen in the fact that some children have full-on education while others do not have such education; some have small classes, wonderful facilities, considerable resources, wide curriculum but others have not. There are however other ways that there is division between haves and have-nots, leaving aside all the above.
Some have academic ability while others do not have the same academic ability, even if they were given all the same resources, facilities and opportunities. Many children who have the material advantages do not have the mental ability, while many who have mental ability do exceedingly well even when they do not have opportunities. Some children have understanding of certain subjects while others clearly do not have such.
We find the haves and the have-nots in the realm of confidence and in the whole area of attitude. In this latter area of the haves and have-nots we again find the great divide. The haves and have-nots are also made up of the wills and will nots; these people affect the haves and have-nots. The development of youngsters is also strongly determined by their attitude, by whether they decide they will do or will not do what is necessary. There are plenty of haves who will not do what is necessary, while there are the have-nots who will rise higher than such because they choose, they will to do so.
Equally, the great divide can be found between the try and the try-nots. Those who try are obviously more likely to succeed than those who will not try. Again, the have-nots who will try are more likely to succeed than the haves who will not try. Similarly, the divide between those who think they can and those who think they cannot will be as significant, if not more so, than the divide between the have and have-nots. As the old saying goes, “Success comes in cans — not cannots.”
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There is a great divide in geography, in life and in education, no question. We will never change that. However, we must not get caught up into thinking that it is simply a matter of whether a child is on the have or have-not side of the mountain. The Great Divide is not all bad news — what is more, it all forms part of diversity. Have we seen that or have we not? Some will and some will not.
- Tim Middleton is the executive director of the Association of Trust Schools [ATS]. The views expressed in this article, however, are solely those of the author in his private capacity and do not necessarily represent the views of the ATS. Email: [email protected], website: www.atschisz
