Education: driving force for, or the hidden inhibitor of the equality of opportunity

Coming all the way across the ocean, plunging into unfamiliar settings, and devising academic projects in a tongue that is not of my own … this wasn’t all too easy. Think I mentioned this…., but again, realizing how ‘alien’ I am, I gradually lost self-confidence. Whenever I said something, it felt like people were eying me, whispering how awkward I sounded. My stuttering comments seemed to disrupt the flows of conversation in class. Slowly, I turned into a hermit, trying to avoid any long talks or active involvement. Well, to tell the truth, I AM an alien, a foreigner. Nothing wrong about that – others will find themselves in the same shoes if they were to come study in Korea, right? But still, it wasn’t fun. That feeling, that there’s an invisible wall blocking others from fully understanding me, something caught in my throat…

Locked up in that excruciating loneliness, I used to wonder whether this is how physically handicapped people would feel like, all the time, wherever they went. Sound too grandiose, histrionic even? I’m not saying I’d completely understand the agony and pain of being physically disadvantaged, oh no, that’d be too bold and inconsiderate, I’m not saying that at all…. Please don’t take me wrong, but come to think of it, I feel a certain sense of empathy there…. I was handicapped, in a different sense – maybe not physically, but linguistically, culturally. What pained me wasn’t the lack or inconvenience, but all the opportunities I had to forego because of such shortcomings. Won’t a boy sitting in a wheelchair feel the same, watching all his friends running around playing basketball?

Speaking of opportunities: although equality of opportunity may be the ideal motto of education, reality doesn’t always follow this line of logic. Rich kids are granted more chances for better education, while the socially disadvantaged are too busy fending for their lives. Wealth and power sustains the social hierarchy, education acting as its faithful tool. I’ve no opposition to those who make more efforts taking a larger portion of priorities, but it’s such a pity that some people out there aren’t even given a chance to make such efforts.

Well, time wares on, and the world changes in accordance… education as well, as part of it. Unilateral conveyance of knowledge no longer applies, as children are exposed to a wider context of reality through the web, learning how to write lively language through blogs and interact with other kids on the opposite side of the globe watching and posting YouTube videos. The internet has revolutionalized the institution of education – experiences are brought to life, no longer confined to pages of old books and the words of an authoritative teacher.

But, there still remains a blind spot. Somewhere and someone not reached and touched even by the ubiquitous, all mighty force of the web – the poor, the socially disadvantaged. No money, no internet connection. No time to mirthfully surf through websites, too busy washing dishes and earning daily bread. A fair share of the population remains outside the wonders of technical progress, and therefore is deprived of any opportunity to rise above the given abjection.

This being a systematical problem, and there always being shadows where there is light, such problems will persist as long as mankind exists. There’s a certain limit to what one can do.. although we may try. Depressing.. but that’s reality.

But, there still is ‘something’ we can do, what ViiKii can do to further equality of educational opportunity – helping those who are blocked from accessing the infinite treasuries of the world wide web, due to language barriers. It can hardly be denied that a greater part of online documents / web pages are composed in English, which means that people who come from a non-English speaking background are innately disadvantaged. The Julus in Africa inevitably suffer lack of available sources compared to Americans; the same would apply to most third-world nations, where technical progress benefits those stationed in the upper strata of the social hierarchy, who can freely use main-stream languages. Hence the vicious cycle, the poor and therefore uneducated reproducing itself generation after generation.

What ViiKii aims to achieve, is to act as a breakthrough in this very aspect. Widen linguistic horizons, offer opportunities to access a greater variety of knowledge to those kept hostage by linguistic barriers. Become a platform for cultural interaction, bilateral education, enhancing educational opportunities. This isn’t mere naivety, or some immature dream vision of an idealist. ViiKii can make this happen –not in itself, but with YOUR help.