Public education matters

I teach the children of people that you probably see every day but whose names you may not remember. I teach the children of the people who clean the restrooms at your office. I teach the children of people who serve food at your favorite fast-food restaurant. I teach the children of people who are there, but are often forgotten. They do menial tasks for very little money and work long hours without significant benefits. Often, these individuals have not completed high school or may not be able to read beyond a fourth-grade level. They depend upon public education to teach their children beyond what they can provide in their homes. These parents cannot afford tutors, after-school programs, and private music lessons. The schools are their only refuge to help their child succeed academically.

I often speak with parents who explain how they are thankful for the schools helping their children. They are usually parents who have children with learning disabilities. These students are at high risk to fail because they lack support at home. However, they are showing growth due to the resources they receive in public education. Public education provides dyslexia intervention, speech therapy, and even occupational therapy. I often refer students for these services, including counseling and social assistance programs. I am their advocate in meetings where they are asking for help. They look to me to navigate through decisions about how to assist their children. And, for most of the interactions, they are thankful.

I do not hear anyone give solutions which benefit the invisible class of working families who need this system to continue thriving.

The parents are often surprised when they think about how they never thought their child could read, do mathematics, or speak in complete sentences. The children can show growth with the support that public education provides. However, this is not the news that I hear about on news media networks. I hear about how public education has become a nightmare for teachers, parents, and students. And I do not hear anyone give solutions which benefit the invisible class of working families who need this system to thrive. The solutions presented are either to give out school vouchers, privatize the schools, or impose prison-like systems to improve behavior. The needs of the children are set aside in these anti-working class political discussions. The working class has become invisible in these dialogues, because they do not have many advocates beyond the school walls.

I am a public education teacher, and I have watched the destruction of the educational system through the news media networks. They show teachers walking out of classrooms in frustration. They depict students as criminals who are assaulting teachers and classmates. Every piece of news is designed to destroy the image of public education. It appears that the educational system has turned into the Titanic, and it is going to crash and sink tragically at any second now. It is not that I deny the current crisis in public education, because it is under massive decline. My concern is about what will happen if the public education system continues to crumble-the invisible, working class will suffer the most.

The opportunity to have an equitable education is attainable by placing the needs of the working class above the greed of the ruling capitalist class.

Under capitalism, quality education will continue to be afforded to only the upper classes of U.S. society. The opportunity to have an equitable education is attainable by placing the needs of the working class above the greed of the ruling capitalist class. In fact, the first goal in the Russian Bolshevik Revolution was to grant everyone the right to a free, equitable education. I know that if we continue to support the working-class movements, then we can change the capitalist privatization of public education. With public education at the forefront of the working-class movement, we can contribute to truly ending capitalist rule and change education to being a right for all and not a privilege for the few.

Images: Milwaukee public school teachers and supporters picket outside Milwaukee public schools adminstration building in Milwaukee, Wisconsinby Charles Edward Miller (Creative Commons).

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