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Tag:

education inequity

Blog GuestCommentary and OpinionEducation and Public PolicyEducation ChoiceEducation EquityFeaturedJack CoonsParent EmpowermentParental ChoiceSchool ChoiceUnionism

From where will common sense emerge?

John E. Coons April 2, 2021
John E. Coons

“Confusion now hath made his masterpiece.”

— Macbeth, Shakespeare

Our national fuddle over the role of government (public?) schools during the pandemic is yet another throwback to the days of their inception in the 1840s. Their founders saw these conscriptive institutions as a mechanism for control and enlightenment of the children of low-income families, mostly immigrants, whose social and religions caste needed redesign.

What history confirms is that, while the specific ideology of the system was to change with the cultural winds, the public school has managed always to maintain its control over the minds and bodies of the poor, both parent and child. These remain the instrument of whoever controls the state’s “free schools” and enjoy their per-pupil tax support.

From Protestant patriots to John Dewey Nationalists, the Supreme Court and, today, the teacher union bosses, our public schools for the poor have ever functioned as a paternalistic intellectual dominion. As always, they serve the comfort and purpose of a controlling elite, even though these cadres have failed either to raise test scores or to achieve the civic enthusiasm of its drafters.

The advent of a Democratic White House has brought little hope of deliverance from the teacher union for lower-income parents, whatever has been their vision of the intellectual and social future of their child. To the contrary, the president for whom I voted has specifically endorsed the enduring vision of the unions with new money to maintain the conscription of their lower-class subjects.

Some today suppose that our epic indifference to the civic hobbling of child and parent shows signs of public remorse and possible repair. Indeed, states like Ohio and West Virginia have, over union resistance, taken surprising legislative steps to empower parents at the expense of the monopoly.

Moreover, there is a growing awareness that criticism of, and resistance to, our proprietary unions of government employees is something wholly different from the classic and healthy competition and compromise between employer and union in the profit-seeking part of our private economy. Incompetence or sloth of the worker in private business is hurtful to both employer and fellow employees; each has a stake in the survival and success of their joint enterprise.

As yet, there is no guarantee of a general reform that empowers families which are unable to afford private tuition and have come up loser in the charter lotteries. The charters themselves are under constant threat from the union. The Supreme Court, though it will annihilate the “Blaine” amendments, is not about to order vouchers or other specific remedy in the offending states.

And it is from there, our 50 “sovereign” jurisdictions, that fundamental reform must come. As always, the solutions will come out of practical politics and the awakening and broad engagement of those with most at stake – the not-so-rich family and its political heroes.

It is paradox, but fact, that the final rescue of parent and child could come, in large part, as a liberal enterprise.

Milton, enjoy the irony.

April 2, 2021 0 comment
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Commentary and OpinionCoronavirus / COVID-19Education and Public PolicyEducation ChoiceEducation EquityFeaturedSchool Choice

Here’s how we can keep this crisis from digging even wider educational divides

Special to redefinED May 1, 2020
Special to redefinED

Editor’s note: In this commentary, Jawan Brown-Alexander, Chief of Schools for New Schools for New Orleans, proposes that it’s possible to take what has been learned from the coronavirus pandemic and use it to reimagine what schools could look like in two, five or even 15 years. The piece originally published April 29 on Education Post.

I am a former school leader and a current educational strategist who works with charter leaders from across New Orleans. Together, we have been thinking about the intersection of educational inequity and the disparate impact of COVID-19. With so much instability in our children’s educational experience, we know that high-quality curriculum matters more than ever before. We are considering what to do now to support our children, as well as what comes next. 

Scientists continue to work on ways to stop this pandemic—and when they finally do, we will turn the page and look to the future. It’s hard to believe now, but folks will get back to work, restart the economy, and begin to see past this horrifying time in our nation’s history. When we rush back to our lives, however, we will still face the reverberating impacts that are coming from this crisis, especially in our minority communities.

Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley said it best in a recent tweet—“Our Black and brown communities face a crisis within a crisis.” In Louisiana, for instance, while Black residents make up around 30% of the state’s population, as of April 20, 56% of Louisianans who have died from COVID-19 have been Black. 

That inequity is not only found in the toll of the virus itself. We will also see an impact on those people of color who faced insecurity in jobs, food or housing even before this moment. And we will see an impact in our education system, too. In Louisiana, as in many states, school buildings will be closed through the end of the school year; the learning loss that normally occurs during the summer is now a real risk even before summer begins. The cost of a slow rollout of distance learning could be significant, and take the greatest toll on children of color. 

When the virus hit, schools and districts with mostly White and affluent students could have the confidence that most of their students would be able to fully engage with online distance learning right away. For districts like New Orleans, with mostly students of color and students who are economically disadvantaged, quick efforts to roll out online distance learning faced a significant barrier: Many children lacked the technology needed to connect.

Taking action to keep kids connected and learning

Our district leadership took immediate action to purchase the materials those students needed, but it takes time to procure, safeguard and distribute technology citywide. Many of our students were—and are—also dealing with housing and food insecurity that makes it more difficult to launch and maintain an at-home learning environment. 

This is not unique to New Orleans. Across our nation, districts that serve mostly students of color, and those with high rates of economically disadvantaged students, will face a steeper climb than others when it comes to distance learning. But by having a strong, clear distance learning plan, we can make sure closed buildings do not mean closed schools and drastic educational losses.   

This means connecting students with technology, if at all possible. It also means continuous engagement with students and families, through the phone, the internet, or both. And it remains as important as ever to provide a high-quality, standards-aligned curriculum. We cannot fully control that students may take in less material than usual right now. We can control whether or not that material is the highest quality it can be. 

Many Tier-1 curriculum vendors are providing updated materials for a distance learning context online. Schools can take advantage of this, lowering the lift of translating existing materials for a new kind of delivery. Schools can also continue to provide their teachers with (virtual) professional development around their Tier-1 curriculum, so they can better adjust to this “new normal.”

Academics are only one part of the response

Academics are just one part of this, though. A strong distance learning plan also takes students’ basic needs and mental health into account. During this pandemic, Black and Brown children will lose loved ones at a disproportionate rate compared to their White peers; this will take a deep emotional toll. An incredibly high number of New Orleans’ children had already experienced trauma prior to this event, and this horrible crisis could cause those numbers to increase.  

It is imperative, then, that our distance learning plans involve connecting mental health experts, like social workers, to provide support to students, families, and school staff members who have been heavily impacted by this crisis. Resources for physical health care, food, shelter, and more remain critical as well. We can leverage external partnerships to help do so—they are more important than ever. Making certain that students receive vital supports is key to the strength of our community and the growth and health of our students.  

We can reimagine what school looks like

We must maintain our focus on the present moment and through the close of the school year. But we must also look even further ahead. There is much we will learn from this crisis—from how to support students experiencing trauma, to how to connect children to local resources, to how to best leverage technology. We can take what we have learned to reimagine what school will look like in the next two, five, or even fifteen years. We can also join in conversations with our families, community members, fellow educators and students themselves about what we will need from federal, state, and local officials as we re-open schools.   

Together, we can keep this crisis from digging even wider educational divides. Our children of color already face great inequities. If we focus on distance learning and whole-child support, and keep an eye on the future, we can help keep them safe and learning today and expand their opportunities tomorrow.    

May 1, 2020 0 comment
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Commentary and OpinionCoronavirus / COVID-19Education EquityFeatured

Digital divide, economic disparities magnified by COVID-19

Keith Jacobs April 23, 2020
Keith Jacobs

In high school, I didn’t ask questions in class. 

What if they laughed at me?  What if I looked stupid? 

These feelings of inadequacy often caused me to miss valuable information during instruction. Other times, I didn’t know what to ask and it was easier to pretend that I understood.

I was an outlier in school.  A black student receiving free lunch surrounded by white kids with parents who had advanced degrees, secure jobs and the kind of money that brings real freedom.  I didn’t just realize at that age that there is a divide in society between those who have and those who have not; I lived it.

My parents couldn’t afford computers or Internet access. Instead, we had an outdated set of encyclopedias published more than 20 years earlier.  I worked on a project once about Germany and used the term “East Berlin” because my encyclopedia wasn’t updated to note that the wall had fallen. 

I felt a certain amount of embarrassment and shame when my teacher corrected me in front of the class, wondering where I found this information.

Inequities prevent underrepresented students from exceling. Too often, these inequities have been an undiscussed virus plaguing our society.  My embarrassment and shame from yesterday propel me to speak for similar students today.

These disparities continue to exist not only within a socioeconomic context, but also along racial lines.  The privileged establishment finds inner courage to address these disparities, but too often in times of crisis.  Society is in its most reflective state during and immediately after natural disasters, tragic loss of life and acts of terrorism.

Across the nation, we see the compassion of those who would not ordinarily acknowledge that there is a socioeconomic divide. Some have volunteered their salaries, spoken in support of expanded healthcare options, working to provide free lunch to all families or access to technology for all students.

Why does it take crises to acknowledge social ills and economic disparity?

Why does it take a global pandemic to realize what’s necessary for a family’s long-term success?

Why wait until an emergency to finally acknowledge that not every child lives in an environment conducive to learning?

Is it because, thanks to COVID-19, we can no longer ignore it?

As a response to this new rapidly spreading virus, governors across the nation have shut down district schools and mandated the birth of a new, widespread form of education – distance learning.  They assure their constituents that this is a necessary step and will provide all students with an opportunity to continue their education while staying safe at home. 

All students? 

Are we to believe that in the absence of options, all students are learning? 

During my local district’s most recent virtual meeting, I took over the microphone for a few minutes:

“How will you ensure all families have access to computers and technology?”

“How will you address unstable learning environments?”

“How will all students learn if there are varied levels of support at home?”

“How will this affect the ever-present achievement gap?”

I finally found the courage as an adult to do what I couldn’t do as a student – what so many lower-income families still can’t do. I asked questions. 

But that doesn’t mean I got answers.

District officials told me they had a crisis plan in place and are ironing out the details.

The reality of the situation is that there is a digital divide with distance learning.  A divide that’s detrimental to the social, emotional, and intellectual growth of students in lower-income situations. 

This is not the fault of COVID-19. 

This new virus has merely exposed the older one – decades of economic warfare, systemic racism, classicism and inequity of resource availability.

According to Pew Research Center, fewer than half of households making between $20-40,000 have internet access. This is in comparison to 93 percent of households making at least $100,000 annually. 

Lower-income households also report family members with higher risk health issues, multiple children, parents without college degrees and at least one child in the home diagnosed with special needs. 

These families need more than equipment; they need support from local municipalities that tackle all risk factors if we want any one of the solutions to work properly and provide help that’s desperately needed.

Why did it take a pandemic to realize this was necessary?

April 23, 2020 3 comments
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