I am thankful that I, once a struggling young adult, had a second chance to return to university (and VCE) to complete a degree, get a PhD, and now contribute to public policy debate in my own small way.

I certainly agree that opportuntities to include people from lower socio-economic circumstances should remain part of the Aust liberal demcratic education experience.

Having worked in both so-called manual and professional jobs, i still maintain that some of the sharpest minds i met are amongst labourers.

...Thanks Chris Lewis. But do be careful what you ask for if you do decide to educate the lower classes though, you may actually witness some genuine honesty!

A start might be to make all elite secondary schools strictly academic entry only and have a government scholarship for the poor but brilliant students. There's a lot to be said for elitism in the context of the old boys networks but entrenching the privilege of dumb but rich people is at best futile and at worst dysgenic, if little Bobby from Toorak is too thick to get into Scotch under such a regime then he can muck in with the rest at state school.

Chris is right!
Up to and including the start of the first world war, British officers, came almost exclusively from the ruling class, or so called aristocracy!
[Quality people you know.]
Which by the way, resulted in some of the dumbest decisions ever made, in recorded military history, and the consequent waste/loss of millions of human lives?
This inversely proves that some element of struggle, in your maturation, hones your intellect; and or, problem solving skills!
It also underlines the fact that leaders are born not made!
That common pig iron, needs to go back into the furnace and be hammered several times, to finish with quality steel!
Our two very best most successful battlefield Generals, came directly from civilian occupations!
One was an engine driver, the other a banana farmer.
You can't teach leadership!
Leaders are born not made!
No amount of ultra-privileged brain washing, will alter immutable facts!
If we simply stopped progressing unearned and therefore undeserved privilege, by cosseting it, with welfare for the rich etc/etc, we could unlock enough public money overnight; around 26 billion, to ensure our universities were fully funded and guided in their, mission statement selection criteria, by merit alone!
Rather than the need to make a quid, simply to survive, as once august organisations!
Were that to be the case, we could unlock the very best and brightest of our true and largely undiscovered talent, and harness it for all, theirs and ours, improved common good!
Rhrosty.

Rhosty,

Just as an aside to your first point.
The Great War was also seen as an opportunity for the ruling class to strut their stuff. They were the class of the knights and leaders of men. At a time when the middle-class was usurping the aristocracy and coming into their own, the hostilities presented a chance for the "ruling class" to again prove that they were made of sterner leadership mettle - even the upper-class women got in on the act, stirring the spirit and fund-raising.

That this class suffered so greatly during this war is the stuff of history. The aristocracy and upper class lost one fifth of their able bodied young men in the Great War, a huge proportion from one class - and amongst those killed were many heirs to titles.

So here we have a woman, leading a life of privilege, complaining that others such as her should not have to make any contribution to the education that was her ticket into that life of privilege.

A Human Rights Lawyer no less who sees nothing wrong with her & her class having their ticket to wealth & privilege paid for by a bunch of checkout chicks. Next we might find her expecting a curtsy from the lowbrow chick, as she hands her the receipt.

I was a self funded mature age student, although just how mature a 24 year old broken down navy fighter pilot might be I"m not sure. Yes I had many credits from an in house education program, but it cost heaps when HECS did not exist.

Although in retrospect I realised I learned little, the piece of paper was very valuable, as a passport to higher earnings.

When we look at some of the arts/law graduates around the country, it does appear that there is very little of value coming from our institutions, & the ethics imparted are some what lower than that of the general community. The arrogance of privilege is showing here, & in much of the output of our universities.

Surely we have quite enough of teaching of non subjects now, which would only expand if absolutely no cost applied to them.

When so many of our science graduates today, can not actually understand the math used by a suburban electrician, it is surely time to wonder if all this education is simply a way of keeping tens of thousands of kids, out of the job market for a few years.