The public education of working class children cannot be directed and administered by political representatives and a bureaucracy that represents the interests of the 1% of the population that has some 40% of the wealth. These are in effect the unelected rulers of society.
The Los Angeles school district, like the entire public school system, is in a crisis. Like the British National Health system this is not because public education or health care is a bad thing, it is because it is not funded at the level it should be and it is managed by worshipers of the market.
A recent investigation in to the Los Angeles system discovered something that any parent knows, the system is inadequate in general and a downright catastrophe when it comes to the education of immigrant and black children. According to the Wall Street Journal, the US dept. of education claims that the Los Angeles Unified School District has been “classifying students as proficient in English thought they couldn’t speak the language.” This should come as no surprise as the education of working class children was not a priority for the capitalist class until they needed workers that could read.
Black children were “subject to unfair discipline” says Russlynn Ali, a US dept. of education representative. These issues come as no surprise to the parents of these children many of whom have suffered similar experiences. Arne Duncan, Obama’s Secretary of Education and supporter of privatizing public education has the usual response, “We still have a long way to go before we see that minority students are consistently getting what they need.”
But no one gives his comments any credibility. It reminds me of Nina Simone’s song Mississippi Goddamn with the chorus of “go slow” go slow” the answer to those civil rights fighters who risked life and limb for basic democratic rights in the southern Apartheid system in this country. There’s always a “long way to go”. This is the cover they use as they know we’ll never actually get there.
A recent investigation in to the Los Angeles system discovered something that any parent knows, the system is inadequate in general and a downright catastrophe when it comes to the education of immigrant and black children. According to the Wall Street Journal, the US dept. of education claims that the Los Angeles Unified School District has been “classifying students as proficient in English thought they couldn’t speak the language.” This should come as no surprise as the education of working class children was not a priority for the capitalist class until they needed workers that could read.
Black children were “subject to unfair discipline” says Russlynn Ali, a US dept. of education representative. These issues come as no surprise to the parents of these children many of whom have suffered similar experiences. Arne Duncan, Obama’s Secretary of Education and supporter of privatizing public education has the usual response, “We still have a long way to go before we see that minority students are consistently getting what they need.”
But no one gives his comments any credibility. It reminds me of Nina Simone’s song Mississippi Goddamn with the chorus of “go slow” go slow” the answer to those civil rights fighters who risked life and limb for basic democratic rights in the southern Apartheid system in this country. There’s always a “long way to go”. This is the cover they use as they know we’ll never actually get there.
Los Angeles mayor, Antonio Villaraigosa says he welcomes the changes that will come from the investigation and its findings as he spouts the same phony rhetoric as Arne Duncan that is an insult to people’s intelligence; LA is in a “profound struggle with funding” he says which means that there will be no changes, none that will work anyway. Arne Duncan, Mayor Villaraigosa, Barack Obama, and the two Wall Street political party’s are not in a profound struggle to do anything but impose savage cuts on workers and the poor. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that in a climate where more and more people are losing their homes and their security, that the billionaires that run society will not solve a major problem like public education, especially for immigrants.
Villaraigosa, if he had the interests of working people at heart would not be making such statements. He would be pointing out that there is adequate funding but it goes in to the pockets of the bankers, speculators as well as for maintaining their predatory wars and occupations abroad. He would be working to increase the OWS movement and to encourage strikes and occupations for a better life.
LA has almost 700,000 students in its public school system and more than 200,000 of them are classified as “English language learners.” LAUSD has 60,000 black students, according to the WSJ.
Public education has to be extended, funded and administered by the “public” that uses it. I was criticized by a right winger on You Tube for calling for free education. But in actuality, it is not free; investing in a public service like education is simply reinvesting the wealth we create in our communities instead of in the various global ventures of the business world, the same with health care. It is our wealth and the wealth of our predecessors.
Committees of parents, teachers, and students are the answer to this problem to collectively direct public education in a way that educates our children not as cogs in the capitalist machine. The institutions where they educate their children don’t have 35 in a class speaking ten different languages with one teacher. Their teacher to student ration is more like one to twelve.
Arne Duncan and Villaraigosa are representatives of Wall Street; they will not solve the crisis in public education and will continue to blame teachers for it. The spreading of the Occupy Wall Street movement is a response to the policies of these representatives of the unelected few who govern US society.
Public education has to be extended, funded and administered by the “public” that uses it. I was criticized by a right winger on You Tube for calling for free education. But in actuality, it is not free; investing in a public service like education is simply reinvesting the wealth we create in our communities instead of in the various global ventures of the business world, the same with health care. It is our wealth and the wealth of our predecessors.
Committees of parents, teachers, and students are the answer to this problem to collectively direct public education in a way that educates our children not as cogs in the capitalist machine. The institutions where they educate their children don’t have 35 in a class speaking ten different languages with one teacher. Their teacher to student ration is more like one to twelve.
Arne Duncan and Villaraigosa are representatives of Wall Street; they will not solve the crisis in public education and will continue to blame teachers for it. The spreading of the Occupy Wall Street movement is a response to the policies of these representatives of the unelected few who govern US society.
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