… we could sing better songs’ (Willy Russel, Educating Rita , 1980)

       Under the current government in England public education is about to go to seed. 

       Rereading Educating Rita in this context reminds us of values and ideals which 

       seem to have unjustly fallen into oblivion. 

In the drama Educating Rita by Willy Russel a young, married working class woman, who calls herself Rita but whose real name is Susan, enrols in a literature course at the Open University in order to discover herself. She arrives at the conclusion:  ‘[…] it´s given me more life than I´ve had in years, […] (p. 198).[1]

The final scenes show Rita truly enjoying cultural life and looking forward to a course she has been admitted to as a real student after passing her exam. Rita´s joy suggests that she has been successfully integrated into the world of the educated.

Nevertheless, the drama has a political subtext about social classes and social mobility. At times it reads like a case study on the predicament of an intelligent, open-minded young woman from the working classes in the late 1970s and accompanying issues of alienation and integration. [2]

At the beginning of her education, Rita is a wanderer between two worlds, the working class world she grew up in, where she still works as a hairdresser and which her husband completely identifies with, on the one hand and the university, the realm of the educated classes and where she is an outsider, on the other. When she attends her weekly tutorial on campus she is painfully aware that the ordinary students are much better equipped for their studies than she is. However, she trusts her tutor Frank, not only because as an alcoholic he is an outsider, too, but because he is open-minded and respectful and even grateful because she makes him see things in a different light from before.

(‘I think you´re the first breath of air that´s been in this room for years.’ p. 180)

Rita´s immersion in the world of the educated, however, does not come without a price. As time goes by her aspiration alienates her from her family, and she has to realize that the alienation is mutual and that her two worlds are incompatible. Here, the drama throws a critical light on the working classes, too. Whereas Rita is convinced that studying literature is worthwhile, her husband refuses to go along with her ideas and plans. He is scared of losing her and goes so far as to burn her books. In her analysis, her efforts make him feel ashamed of his way of life and put the blame on him for not taking action himself. ‘He hates me coming here. It´s like drug addicts, isn´t it? They hate it when one of them tries to break away.’ P. 195 Thus, not external circumstances are seen as the cause of his dissatisfaction but lack of purpose and fear of change.[3]

Besides not fitting into the working class world any more, Rita feels that she does not belong in the world of the educated either. ‘I can´t talk to the people I live with any more. An´ I can´t talk to the likes of them on Saturday or them out there, because I can´t learn the language.’ (p. 208) When she is invited to a dinner party at Frank´s house she wants nothing more than to attend, but she is scared that she would be perceived as an oddity instead of an equal, that the other guests would be amused by her appearance, her way of speaking and her behaviour rather than take her seriously. While Frank appreciates her otherness, she wishes nothing more than to blend in.

Both the resistance Rita faces within her community and her fear of being laughed at by the educated give a vivid and realistic impression of the workings of the class system which in some of its manifestations has not only persisted until today but has even been reinforced. 

Although Rita´s story bears traces of social romanticism, it is not utterly unthinkable. The climate of the times encouraged young people from the working classes to study at university. ‘Between 1962 and the 1990s higher education in Britain was effectively free, as the state paid students’ tuition fees and also offered maintenance grants to many.’[4]

Even though for Rita studying at university implies having less money and time, a university education appears to be an attainable aim. Being an outcast from her childhood environment is certainly the highest price Rita has to pay. She trades off belonging for a more satisfactory life.

Rita´s story is intriguing, and it makes us wish that many people could be offered such an enriching experience in their lives.   
As her story is clearly embedded in the circumstances of the late 1970s, the question poses itself how Rita would fare in the social reality of today.To an external observer Great Britain today does not present itself as the open-minded society which facilitates or even promotes social mobility on a larger scale. It even seems that the divide between the social classes is harder to cross.

The defensive attitude of the underprivileged in the face of change displayed by Rita´s husband, has likely strengthened. All over Europe and the US it takes the form of pride in one´s way of life and correspondingly a rejection of learning and upward mobility. The elites, in particular intellectuals such as scientists or journalists, are not role models any more but targets of hatred. These emotions culminated in the rise of UKIP and the Brexit vote in 2016 and might have a strong hold on a young lower class woman.

The development outlined so far coincides with a shift in the hierarchy of needs in western industrial nations. Whereas in the late 20^th century individualism was a predominant value, and self-actualisation - in Rita´s words finding or discovering oneself - was of prime importance, the need to belong to and identify with a particular community seems to have taken hold of large parts of the population of western countries in the early 21^st century.  This makes it even less likely for a young woman to leave her community.

If a young woman like Rita still felt attracted to studying literature in 2017, she would certainly have to struggle with higher obstacles, because circumstances have changed radically in the last decade. The Conservative Government has raised tuition fees for English universities to about 9200 £ a year so that now they are the highest in the world. [5] With her wages as a hairdresser it would simply be impossible to save up so much money! Of course, she might consider taking out a student loan, but paying it off with interest would burden her for many years.

Of course, it is understandable that if austerity measures have to be implemented, higher education can´t be completely spared. With the English government withdrawing almost completely from public funding of university places, however, social mobility will undoubtedly be obstructed.

Ultimately, such a policy does not serve the common good because modern liberal societies benefit from a well-educated population and England is no exception.  In order to prevent frustration and hopelessness from spreading among those with little chance of advancement, the current policy should be reversed and replaced by one which promotes equality of opportunity and actively encourages people from all walks of life to educate themselves.

Only with a new openness in all strata of society can the division between the social classes begin to be healed. The foundation for this is laid with a good public school system which however is about to go to seed with the looming funding cuts and competition with (private) free schools that are equally funded by the government. 

In summary, in the political climate of today Educating Rita can remind us that a good public education (both secondary and higher education) ought to be accessible to everyone independent of social origin not only because it improves one´s chances in life but because it is conducive to a satisfactory life, to responsible citizenship and thus to social peace from which society as a whole benefits. Consequently, schools and universities deserve generous public funding.

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[1] Willy Russel (1986) Educating Rita, Stags & Hens and Blood Brothers. Two plays and a musical. London: Methuen.

[2] In fact, the drama draws on the author´s own experience.

[3] Educating Rita is based on the author´s experience.

[4] http://www.historyandpolicy.org/policy-papers/papers/university-fees-in-historical-perspective

[5] In Scotland higher education is free of charge for Scottish students, in Wales and Northern Ireland tuition fees amount to less than half the sum for English universities.