The Shame of the Nation: The Restoration of Apatheid Education in America

So recently returning from SA I thought I was beginning to have a handle on the depth and lasting impact of apartheid policies. But leave it to Jonathan Kozol to present a major paradigm shift.

Kozol is a huge advocate for connecting with students and sharing their narratives as pure witnesses to the public school system to impact policy and analysis. This is the first full length text I have read by him but I am already really taken with this approach. Too often in education policy it seems that those making recommendations and implementing new practices are removed from the day to day of public education in the US.

While I want to provide solid analysis of the text I would be remiss to not acknowledge my personal biases and initial reactions as well. It's frustrating to recognize that I have been buying into the narrative about America being segregated by class rather than race today. These statistics alone snapped me out of that glossed over perception:
"In the district that included P.S. 65, there were 11,000 children in the elementary schools and middle schools in 1997. Of these 11,000, only 25 were white, a segregation rate of 99.8%. Two tenths of one percentage point now marked the difference between legally enforced apartheid in the South of 1954 and the socially and economically enforced apartheid in this New York City neighborhood.

A certain level of cross-sectional analysis is absolutely required to understand the segregation of the public school system. There is also a strong connection across sectors and access to resources including but not limited to just education. Kozol highlights the severe impact of the lack of inter-racial social interactions. His work in the Bronx during the 80s also sheds some light on how a lack of access to healthcare and information created a rapid spread of HIV that affected many mothers and children.

Ronald Regan and I have never seen eye to eye on policy and he strikes again in Kozol's reflections, the social policy of the Regan Administration essentially reverted the progress that integrated public education had made in the previous decade. A Harvard Study comissioned as part of the Civil Rights Project notes that during the past 25 years "there has been no significant leadership towards the goal of creating a successfully integrated society built on integrated schools and neighborhoods"

It appears that it is local groups, faithbased or otherwise, that continue to work the hardest to create small opportunities for integration. For every well-intentioned effort on the local level, unfortunately, there seems to be efforts on the national level (federal policy, supreme court decisions, etc.) that are occurring without consideration for the impact of segregated schools. This trend does not exclude the latest waves of education reform. Kozol points out that the two largest educational innovation of the past 2 decades, standards-based reform and school choice, completely disregard the impact of racial segregation.

While this initial insight presents more questions than answers, I'm optimistic about Kozol's perspective gained through first hand research in schools around the country.

The reality of budget cuts

As many of you know I've been working with a group of students from around Boston to advocate for full funding to programs like AmeriCorps, CityYear, and TFA that are in danger of major cuts. These programs are so important now more than ever, they provide opportunity for young people to serve their communities and have a profound impact on underserved children across the country. I came across this article today and was reminded how vital it is that we ensure state level funding for education and mentoring programs as well

Here's an excerpt;

"The cuts in education will disproportionately hurt those Pennsylvanians who can least afford it. Basic education cuts mean the lower and middle classes would either bear the brunt of local property tax increases or suffer a lower quality education due to underfunded public schools.

The reductions in higher education would make a college education much less affordable to all and would put it completely out of reach for many. Those with substantial wealth will be least affected because they can afford to send their children to private schools.

America has always stood for opportunity. That opportunity has been based on broad access to a good-quality education as a means for individuals to work hard and to improve their circumstances. Corbett’s budget is a direct attack on this fundamental American principle. His approach moves the United States toward a society with fixed economic classes and threatens to destroy the American way of life".

Read more: http://www.centredaily.com/2011/03/16/2585311/corbett-attacking-american-ideal.html#ixzz1GlmBz7Z9

interesting how strong the 'American Dream' ideology is...

Resilence and optimism in South Africa

Just returned from 10 days in the beautiful country of South Africa and my head is spinning! It's hard to believe that I could feel so at home half way around the world. Of course being able to make art and work with beautiful preschoolers creates a nice comfort zone but there was more to it than that. One of the most refreshing things I found in SA was the recognition that democracy is an imperfect work in progress. While we proudly promote our democratic structure in the US, we are miles away from the thoughtful reflection shared in SA. The dialogue is more open, and there is a stronger will to admit mistakes of the past and work for change. Of course I'm always the idealistic one here but the hope and transformation was palpable, even when we were working in the townships where resources and opportunity are hard to come by.

I had the chance to speak to many people about access to education. One powerful conversation was with Dorothy Garcia, one of the directors of ArtAidsArt. She has been working in Khayelitscha for 12 years now. She shared how the dialogue and perspective about education has shifted. While access to education is still barred by school fees, uniform fees, transportation expenses, etc. conversation in the township has shifted. The women we worked with expressed a strong desire for their daughters to become lawyers, teachers, and the first female President of South Africa. While the barriers to opportunity, economic mobility, and education are still significant, this noticeable shift in perception is promising. It reflects a shifting set of priorities and a concerted effort to provide a better future.

As my research about the myth of the American Dream has indicated, a vision of mobility is not always a reality. Regardless, culture has a huge impact on policy and development priorities. The optimism of moms and children alike in South Africa should inspire all of us to evaluate the profound opportunity that comes with access to education.

Taking a stand in Egypt

I'm sure many of you have been watching the movement in Egypt and across the MiddleEast unfold. I came across some interesting stats the other day while doing a little research at BTC.

Did you know that 65% of the general population in the MiddleEast is under the age of 30?

And in Egypt 85-90% of people 30 or younger are unemployed?

No wonder they are looking for a forum to express their discontent.

Look at what 9% unemployment is doing to our generation here in the US! 90%???? Imagine how trapped you would feel.

I know this post is brief but just wanted to take a moment to stand in solidarity with all the young people speaking out and standing up in Egypt. Here's to hope and progress.

If you're looking for a good source of updated info about the ongoings in Egypt, this blog has been my go-to source: http://motherjones.com/mojo/2011/01/whats-happening-egypt-explained

Dream job or the dream of finding a job?

Sorry for the delay friends, I've been working on 2 other blogs this summer also, one for my internship class and one for BTC. You may have seen the controversial article in the NY Times last week about our generation (millennials) and employment opportunities. While I personally think it slighted our generation a little and tied larger issues to the personal story of a recent graduate who had more a support system in place than the average college grad, it's still generated a lot of conversation. So much of the framing of our anti-poverty campaign is focusing right now on this idea of the American Dream. Yesterday, one of the NY times bloggers called for millennials (that's us!) to respond to this concept of the American Dream and opportunity. There are some great comments, check it out here.

Here's my 2 cents that I just sent to the NYT:

As a 21 year old about to graduate from college the job market and economic climate are pretty terrifying. The reality is that even though we embrace this myth of the American Dream, hardwork and strong moral character alone really aren't enough to move up the income ladder or 'make a better life'. I do think there are strong misconceptions about our generation's sense of entitlement. While it is present, we aren't all privileged. Today the neighborhood you're born into is the strongest predictor of your economic success, mobility, and education achievement. While I wish the American Dream was a reality, it's a rare occurrence and we rally around the occasional story of mobility and success, touting it as a cornerstone of our nation's identity. It's not the reality for college grads right now and it's definitely not a feasibly reality for children born into poverty without access to quality education. If there's ever been a call to action for our generation, this is it. Where we go from here though, I'm not really sure.

What do you think? Comment here or comment on the NY times page.

Yours in idealistic activism,

SG

a little bit of soul

I came across this wonderful article in the Huffington Post this morning. I highly recommend checking it out. It's an excerpt from Paul Loeb's new book "Soul of a Citizen". I'm buying it on Amazon right now. Activism, El Salvador, oppression, homelessness, immigration, and globalization; what more could you ever need in a good summer read?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paul-loeb/soul-of-a-citizen-stories_b_590704.html

what is it good for?

This morning the New York Times lead story was about the toll of war and fatalities in Afghanistan surpassing 1,000. Now that lead story has been replaced with this erroneous coverage of the CT attorney general and whether or not he served in Vitenam or misspoke. Everytime I've walked by the tv in our office today cnn has been replaying the same clip of him apologizing for his 'word choice' with two Vietnam vets standing on either side of him. Anyone else find this ironic? Where are our priorities? What about the real story, the families that are suffering? The young soldiers losing their lives? The innocent civilians dying in the crossfire? What type of backwards values do we use to bind politics and military service together? I’m tired of war. And the media. We need a paradigm shift.