A Patch column on education

“We can and must act to protect the public schools against those who slander them out of hidden anti-democratic, racial or class biases. But most particularly, we must protect the children in those schools, for such is not only the kingdom of heaven but also the future of our country and of the yet-to-be-realized democratic dream of equal opportunity for all…”

These words, from a resolution passed at a United Church of Christ General Synod in 1991, underscores our belief that the common good and justice are best served by equal access to quality education, that opportunity should not be reserved for the wealthiest communities. Since that resolution was passed, the educational landscape has dramatically changed. The so-called “Texas Miracle” drove “No Child Left Behind,” extending the failed educational policies of former governor and President George W. Bush to the national level.

The not-so-secret agenda of this legislation was to marginalize teachers, frequently union members with good educations and inclined to vote for Democratic candidates. Our hard working teachers have been excoriated by extremists and the wealthy for the last two decades, with the media often jumping on board. Educational corporations, with their battalions of lobbyists, have been enriched, while our children have been brutalized by high-pressure tests. Privatization, from voucher systems to charter schools, helps insure the rich get the best education. The increasingly severe penalties for systems that do not fulfill the demands of this regime have the greatest impact on poor districts, furthering efforts to dismantle public education altogether.

Yet there is no evidence that any of these supposed reforms has improved the quality of education in our country. And how could they? America has always been marked by a can-do creativity, an inventiveness that has made us leaders in everything from industry to the arts, jazz to Macintosh. Memorization learning is not in our character or in our interest.

Given this depressing state of affairs, it was refreshing to hear that an increasing number of parents pulled their children out of testing this spring. Some did it, no doubt, for reasons related to their own child and his or her response to this educational torture. But others no doubt boycotted the tests out of principle. Good for them.

Destroying our schools is a sure way to destroy our democracy. It also destroys the opportunity for individuals to live in to their God-given potential. Let’s support our children and our teachers, matching prayer with action to dismantle “No Rich Child Left Behind.”

“I will pour down rain on a thirsty land, showers on the dry ground. I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring and my blessings on your children. They shall spring up like a green tamarisk, like poplars by a flowing stream.” —Isaiah 44:3-4