Charter schools? District Schools? Teachers Union?
Oh my!
This week, I had an opportunity to watch Waiting For Superman, the highly anticipated and highly controversial documentary about the state of American public education.
Firstly, it will come as no surprise to anyone with the most superficial interest in education that our system is broken. This admission is difficult for me given that I am a product of public school and have a deep commitment liberal ideals of high-quality public education. Yet, as an organization, we have certainly come to grips with the fact that the overwhelming majority of public high schools in New York are not preparing their students to go anywhere, let alone competitive four-year colleges. Thus, we spend a disproportionate amount of time and resources to ensure that our students end up in the few public high schools that would be considered “college-preparatory.”
As the leadership of this organization, we engage in discussions constantly about “creaming” and whether what we do is democratic or fair. What is absolutely shocking to me is that we would do anything other than whatever is necessary to ensure that our students attend the best schools available. Period.
Overall, I find that our societal lack of outrage about this issue is outrageous. That we could be so dismissive about the future of so many children (disproportionately low-income and of color) is shocking. That we sacrifice the education of children at the altar of political maneuvering and job security for adults is shocking.
The truth is that until we take responsibility for treating other people’s children exactly the way that we would our own then we will not change the system.
