FREE ESSAY ON INTEGRATION AND ANIMAL FARM BY ORWELL

INTEGRATION AND ANIMAL FARM BY ORWELL

Derrick Robicheaux
Auditing
11:00-11:50
Integration of Education in the United States
Throughout history, education is recognized as one of the key components of any civilized
society. It is a natural instinct for man to learn, and feel the need to pass on that
knowledge to their young and to all those who come behind them. People have a passion for
education, and will fight for the opportunity to gain the valuable knowledge that
education provides. The importance of education in a society is illustrated in two
aspects. The first being the actual events in American history regarding the
desegregation of schools, and the second being the action of the animals in George
Orwell's Animal Farm upon receiving their liberation on Manor Farm. 
In recent times we have witnessed a struggle in American society for the opportunity of
minorities to realize the education that their white counterparts received. It began with
slavery, when blacks were prohibited from obtaining even the basic skills to read and
write. When blacks were finally allowed this liberty, we began our own makeshift schools,
and were content with this opportunity. As time progressed, and more formal schools were
established, minorities realized that they were not receiving the same quality education
as those of the majority. This sparked a legal battle that lasted over fifty years. The
first landmark was the case of Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896. It established the doctrine of
separate but equal. This concept stated that separate public facilities of equal quality
do not violate the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the
Constitution. This amendment says that no state may abridge the privileges of any
citizen, nor may any state deprive any citizen of life, liberty, or property without due
process of the law. In 1954, fifty-eight years later, the Case of Brown v. the Board of
Education of Topeka finally settled the debate of whether or not blacks and whites can
receive an education integrated with or separate from each other. This time the Supreme
Court unanimously ruled to overturn the Plessy v. Ferguson decision. In his opinion, the
Chief Justice wrote, We conclude that, in the field of public education, the doctrine of
separate but equal has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.
The Brown case signaled the end of segregation of public places mandated by law. Once the
Brown decision was handed down, the African-American community, along with progressive
white Americans, placed sufficient pressure on the legal and political system to bring an
end to state-supported segregation in all public facilities.
Forty-six years removed from the Brown v. Board of Education decision formally
desegregated public schools, African-American youth have made enormous progress in high
school completion, in better test scores, in greater college enrollment, in obtaining
college degrees and in careers. The endless stream of negative statistics tends to
overshadow the individual accomplishments of those who found their way around the
barriers and through the closed doors. The statistics support these positives. In 1967,
the U.S. Census found that 54% of African-Americans between the ages of 25 and 29 had
completed high school. By 1987, this number had risen to 83%. African-Americans also made
some progress on achievement tests given by the National Achievement Education Program.
Their reading scores had risen from 238 in 1971 to 274 in 1991. African-American student
scores have risen on the SATs also, while other ethnic group scores have either lagged or
remained unchanged. A few years back there was a decline in the numbers of
African-Americans attending college, but that has turned around, particularly among
women. These statistics are encouraging, but there are other facts that cannot be
ignored. First, while African-American educational attainment has improved, the amount of
education needed to have a real chance in life has grown even more. Second, general
trends do not reflect how really awful education conditions are in some schools, in some
regions, and for some groups, including African-Americans in urban areas. Third, the gap
between white and African-American achievement remains substantial. There are still
issues regarding the equality of education still today. There have been demographic
changes, not only the flight of the white middle class to the suburbs after the Brown
case, but a flight of black middle class as well. This has left inner cities districts to
become schools for poor and minority students. There needs to be a socio-economic mix in
public schools as well as an ethnic mix. Another problem is the need for space; rich
districts tend to have more space per student than poorer districts. This is evidence
that the struggle for equality continues.
The importance of education is also demonstrated by the actions of the animals in Animal
Farm. One of the first points on the agenda after the revolution that gave the animals
control of the farm was the work of teaching the other animals on the farm. This work was
naturally delegated to the pigs who were the most intelligent animals on the farm. This
demonstrates that knowledge is power. Reading and writing classes were immediately
instituted to teach all the animals basic literary skills. These classes were a big
success due to the natural want of any miseducated individual to learn. Within a year,
almost every animal on the farm was literate to some degree. Both of the ruling pigs,
Napolean and Snowball, realized the need for education. They differed on the focus of
this education. Napolean believed in concentrating the education effort towards the
young, whereas Snowball believed in educating everyone. Napolean showed this commitment
when he assumed the private education of the nine young puppies, although he had alterior
motives for this commitment. When the new litter of pigs were born later in the book,
Napolean set aside space for the building of a schoolroom, and taught the pigs privately
in the farmhouse kitchen until the schoolroom was built. Again, Napolean later used this
to his advantage. The cunning of Napolean demonstrates from another perspective that
knowledge is power. The lesser educated animals on the farm were manipulated and
mistreated, but their lack of mental sharpness to see what was going on prevented them
from ever receiving justice. This relates back to how blacks were enslaved and prevented
from receiving an education. It was well known by the majority that an educated group of
individuals would not allow themselves to be enslaved forever. 
The struggle for equality in schools and the events on the animal farm prove that
education is the key to a meaningful existence, and that the less educated will always be
dominated by better educated in any society.