As we all know, yesterday we had visitors from CPS (parents, students, activists) at the Northfield Campus to protest inequities in school funding in the state of Illinois. They believe that our system of primarily funding a school's budget with property taxes is unfair, and, in essence, leads to better schools in more affluent areas while poorer areas have poorer schools.
In a recent class discussion we asked two questions that tie into this issue: 1 - is public education a right in the United States? and 2 - Is a quality education a right in the United States? We'd all probably answer "yes" to the first question (we are, after all attending and working in a public school), but the second question seems to be the most compelling. If we say "no," then how do we determine who gets the better education? If we say "yes," then how do we go about making sure this is the case?
In general, let's consider Reverend Meeks and the visitors here on Tuesday as individuals offering an alternative voice to this very important issue. Maybe their statement would read, "What to think of school funding for a person like me and all who look like me..."
4 comments:
I would add, is education something that should be treated as a commodity (like the car you drive), and therefore we can tolerate a great deal of inequality? Or is education something fundamentally different, like the right to vote, in which we would consider it abhorrent for a wealthier person's vote to count more than a poorer person's vote?
Great comment!
I would have to argue that education is something fundamentally different than a commodity, for it is never a finished product which can be bought or sold. Education is not the outcome of parts assembled in a specific fashion to make it work. To claim this would be to deny education of what makes it so unique-education is different for everyone, it's parts are made up of individual experiences: influenced by teachers, classmates, and the material learned during coarses. This is why education must be made available to all of our nations' students. Although it will be a challenge to make this dream a reality, we are in luck, for unlike the soaring gasoline prices, one can simply not put a price tag on the fuel for education: one's thirst to learn and grow. If Senator Meeks and other protesters continue to fuel their very important conquest for equality in school funding with that determination, than anything can be accomplished.
I'd hope that in America, we'd eventually come to a point where each person would receive a "quality" education. But what would that look like? What kind of "solution" would that be?
I worry that the focus on school funding distracts us from the larger issue of class differences in America. It seems to me that that conversation is an even more important issue. Yet we Americans are less willing to engage in discussions of social class -- it makes us uncomfortable.
Perhaps it's easier to focus on numbers like how much money is expended on each student in the city versus the suburbs.
Post a Comment