Radical Hope

Education and equality for Australia

In Radical Hope, one of Australia’s most original and provocative thinkers turns his attention to the question of education. Noel Pearson begins with two fundamental questions: How to ensure the survival of a people, their culture and way of life? And can education transform the lives of the disadvantaged many, or will it at best raise up a fortunate few?

In an essay that is personal and philosophical, wide-ranging and politically engaged, Pearson discusses what makes a good teacher and recalls his own mentors and inspirations. He argues powerfully that underclass students, many of whom are Aboriginal, should receive a rigorous schooling that gives them the means to negotiate the wider world. He examines the long-term failure of educational policy in Australia, especially in the indigenous sector, and asks why it is always “Groundhog Day” when there are lessons to be learned from innovations now underway.

This is an essay filled with ideas and arguments and information – from a little-known educational revolutionary named Siegfried Englemann, to the No Excuses ethos and the Knowledge Is Power program, to Barack Obama’s efforts to balance individual responsibility and historical legacy. Pearson introduces new findings from research and practice, and takes on some of the most difficult and controversial issues. Throughout, he searches for the radical centre – the way forward that will raise up the many, preserve culture, and ensure no child is left behind.

Correspondence discussing Quarterly Essay 35, Radical Hope:

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

An Aboriginal activist and respected community leader, Noel Pearson came from the Guugu Yimithirr Aboriginal community at Hope Vale, a Lutheran Mission on Cape York Peninsula. He graduated with an honours degree in history from the University of Sydney. Pearson completed a law degree in 1993. In 1990 Pearson co-founded the Cape York Land Council where he was Executive Director until he resigned in 1996. He continues to advise a number of Indigenous organisations in Cape York, and advocates self-determination and land rights for Indigenous people.

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING

A work of universal significance in which Pearson once again shows himself to be Australia’s most powerful contemporary thinkers. His essay is essential reading for all who care about the true nature of the society we have created in Australia. For the first time in my life I encountered here a mature insight into the private hells produced by the very kind of failed education I received as a boy growing up at the bottom of a class ridden culture in London after the war.

Alex Miller

I confess to experiencing moments of joy when reading Noel Pearson's essay. The opening pages made the rest of the piece irresistable reading.

Fred Chaney

Over the years, Pearson has prompted quite a few conservative Australians to a change of heart. He's now inviting us to go a little bit further than [John Howard] was prepared to, but it's a project that we should be ready to support.

Tony Abbott