Such figures reveal a world divided between those who have and those who lack educational opportunity, with huge potential repercussions not only in terms of skill shortages and economic waste, but also in terms of social stability. The late US Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren’s words in Brown v. Board of Education,which struck down the legal basis for racial segregation in America’s public schools, remain no less relevant today: “It is doubtful that any child may reasonably be expected to succeed in life if he is denied the opportunity of an education.”
这些数字暴露出一个两极分化的世界。一边是拥有教育机会的群体，另一边是缺少教育机会的群体，其巨大的潜在影响不仅在于技能短缺和经济浪费，还在于社会稳定。已故的美国最高法院首席大法官厄尔·沃伦（Earl Warren）在布朗诉教育委员会案（Brown v. Board of Education，该案取消了美国公立学校中的种族隔离的法律基础）中的话直到今天意义丝毫不减：“任何一个儿童，如果他被剥夺了教育的权利，那么认为他能够在生活中取得成功就是可疑的。”正如沃伦所说，“这一机会……是一项所有人都必须能够平等地获得的权利。”