There are two main factors to consider when understanding why public education matters for the survival of democracy: opportunity and the ability for citizens to elect a government that governs for the needs of all.
Democracy cannot survive without opportunity. Opportunity does not simply lie only in the form on jobs, but living circumstances, health services, and a multitude of other areas. Access to quality public education allows citizens of democracy freedom of choice for a variety of careers. Without appropriate public education, citizens will be subjected to a limited group of options being those categorized as more labor-intensive and low-paying. However, that’s not to say labor-intensive careers are not satisfying and don’t require education. With advancing technology, many labor-intensive careers would benefit from having an educated workforce and with a more educated workforce, pay will increase. Additionally, with opportunity come advancements in society. The higher percentage of citizens with education, the more inventions and discoveries will appear. By only educating a small elite who can afford excessive costs of education, a democratic society cannot simply thrive without consistent innovations and opportunity provides this longevity for a democracy.
Secondly, democracy lies on the idea that citizens have utmost control on electing officials and the ability to voice dissatisfaction with government actions. Without a public education, there rises in inability to elect officials that cater to the overall good of its citizens. It’s crucial for a citizen to have knowledge on research and the skills of deciphering between non-biased versus opinionated sensational news. Any government is prone to corruption and there is no doubt democracy is embedded with it. Many politicians today are in elected office based on their own personal interests. Many citizens are not having their voices heard and their needs met based on a lack of knowledge when it comes to electing politicians. Take for example, the PBS series School: The Story of American Education at 8:45 of Part 1.
Back in the 1700s and 1800s, slaves in the U.S. were not provided education. It shows the idea that to provide a group of marginalized individuals’ education, they will begin to see the injustices inflicted by the government.
With a quality public education, it would be the hope that citizens will know their rights and understand that no politician, much less no democratic government, can survive without the permission of its citizens.