TK Coleman is a writer, motivational speaker, entrepreneur, teacher, and a few other things — but that’s enough to give you the idea. He’s smart, funny, thoughtful, and overflowing with optimism. We talk about race, Muhammed Ali, and whether the free market can save us from the free market. Learn more about TK and what he’s up to at fee.org/rev1.
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Intro music: “Brightside of the Sun,” by Basin and Range; “Sometimes,” by Daniel Lanois; “Smoke Alarm,” by Carsie Blanton.
Interesting conversation. I wonder if TK has studied the economic systems in other countries aside from the United States. Here in Mexico, for example, we have the public schools which are free (or subsidized, as he points out) and the private schools; and just like in the United States, the quality of the education your children receive in the private sector is much better than in the public sector; for grade school, middle school and high school.
However –and unlike in the United States– we also have free public universities in Mexico, and with those the quality of education tends to be just as good as the private colleges, and sometimes even better –the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) is ranked as the #1 college in Mexico, and is ranked as #258 among the top 1000 colleges in the world. And for the longest time the possibility of free higher education was the number one factor for social mobility in this country –my dad, who graduated from UNAM in the 60’s, used to tell us stories about one of his fellow students who was so poor, he slept in a public bus at nights, and in the mornings the prostitutes from a nearby brothel allowed him to wash up before going to class. The guy did graduate and had a good career.
Of course, we’re talking about an era in which getting a college diploma assured you a steady job pretty much for life, and we all know things are slightly different in the XXIst century –take if from a guy who got a diploma from one of the most prestigious schools in his country. And yet, I do feel that Bernie’s plan to make college education free was a good idea and a great equalizer of opportunity.