Rights, bursche, rose and the "pipeline"

We address education "pipelines" and their social ecology, drawing on the 1930's writing of Ralph J. Bunche, a Nobel peace maker whose war against systematic second-class education for the poor, minority and nonminority alike is nearly forgotten; and of the epidemiologist Geoffrey Rose, whose 1985 paper spotlighted the difficulty of shifting health status and risks in a "sick society." From the perspective of human rights and human development, we offer suggestions toward the paired "ends" of the pipeline: equality of opportunity for individuals, and equality of health for populations. We offer a national "to do" list to improve pipeline flow and then reconsider the merits of the "pipeline" metaphor, which neither matches the reality of lived education pathways nor supports notions of human rights, freedoms and capabilities, but rather reflects a commoditizing stance to free persons.