We dont have an education problem. Weve got a poverty problem. Its as simple as that, and Ive been saying so for a while. Of course, nobody cares what I say--Im just some dude on the internet. So the education debate continues apace, despite most of its assumptions being wildly unfounded and misguided. That is, we dont need charter schools. We dont need more standardized testing; in fact, we need less standardized testing. And we dont need to get rid of teachers unions. Indeed, we need more unionization of our educators, and more bargaining strength for their unions, in order to assure that some of the most important people in our nation, the people who teach our young, dont have to wait tables in order to send their own kids to college. Its all wrong. The entire education debate is self-destructive and foolish. Anyone who engages in that discussion on its own terms is an enemy to knowledge and inquiry, and an enemy to a strong and thriving America. Yeah, thats right. If youre a charter advocate, one of those voucher people, someone who wants to unleash the power of competition, someone who thinks the market can save our schools, Im calling you a traitor. All those ideas are about destroying the public school system and replacing it with stuff that just doesnt do what its defenders say it will. Destroy Americas schools, and you destroy America. That makes you a traitor. And Im not joking. Youre the enemy, as sure as Al Qaeda is the enemy. As the linked article observes, well-to-do schools have test scores that are similar to what we see in some of the best public school systems around the world. All the so-called failing schools in this country, all of them, are in poverty stricken areas. End poverty, and all the pathologies that go with it, and you fix the schools. Its that simple. Because the schools arent really broken. Rather, they are absurdly expected to cure deeply entrenched economic, social, and cultural problems all by themselves, without the resources or organizational depth to do so. Its a big sick joke. Because its an impossible task. Indeed, this shouldnt even be the schools responsibility in the first place. Its only a problem because the fabulously wealthy elite who own and operate our nation have so successfully pushed their job creator nonsense for so long that we cant even imagine such a thing as LBJs War on Poverty anymore. But thats what we need. I mean, for its own sake, but also if were serious about education, equal opportunity, a thriving economy, and everything else associated with it. In the meantime, we are condemning millions to a dim life of totally unrealized potential, which is nothing short of obscene. alternet.org/education/poverty-americas-1-education-problem
Posted on: Wed, 13 Nov 2013 22:42:52 +0000
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