I teach the children of people you probably see every day but whose names you may not remember. I teach the children of the people who clean the bathrooms in your office. I teach the children of the people who serve the food at your favorite fast food restaurant. I teach the children of people who are there but are often forgotten. They do menial jobs for very little pay and work long hours with no benefits to speak of. Often these people have not finished high school or cannot read beyond a fourth grade level. They depend on the public education system to teach their children more than they can provide at home. These parents cannot afford tutors, after-school programs, or private music lessons. School is their only option to help their child succeed academically.
I often speak with parents who explain how grateful they are that schools help their children. Typically, these are parents who have children with learning disabilities. These students are at risk of failing because they lack support at home, but they show progress because of the resources the public education system provides them. The public education system offers dyslexia intervention, speech therapy, and even occupational therapy. I often refer students to these services, including counseling and social assistance programs. I represent them at meetings where they ask for help. They rely on me to help them make decisions about how to help their children. And for most interactions, they are grateful.
I don’t hear from anyone offering solutions that benefit the invisible class of working families who need this system to continue to succeed.
Parents are often surprised to think that they never thought their child could read, do math, or speak in complete sentences. Children can progress with the support that the public education system provides. But that is not the news I hear on the news networks. I hear that the public education system has become a nightmare for teachers, parents, and students. And I hear no one offering solutions that benefit the invisible class of working families who need this system to thrive. The solutions offered are to either issue school vouchers, privatize the schools, or implement prison-like systems to improve behavior. The needs of children are pushed aside in these anti-worker political discussions. The working class has become invisible in these dialogues because it does not have many advocates outside of school walls.
I am a public school teacher and have watched the news media destroy the education system. They show teachers walking out of classrooms in frustration. They portray students as criminals who attack teachers and fellow students. Every news story is designed to destroy the image of public education. It seems like the education system has become the Titanic and could tragically crash and sink at any moment. It is not that I am denying the current crisis of public education, for it is in massive decline. My concern is what will happen if public education continues to decay – the invisible working class will suffer the most.
The possibility of equal education can be achieved by placing the needs of the working class above the greed of the ruling capitalist class.
Under capitalism, quality education will continue to be the preserve of only the upper echelons of U.S. society. The possibility of equal education will be achieved by putting the needs of the working class above the greed of the ruling capitalist class. In fact, the first goal of the Russian Bolshevik Revolution was to grant everyone the right to a free, equal education. I know that if we continue to support labor movements, we can change the capitalist privatization of public education. If public education is at the forefront of the labor movement, we can help truly end capitalist rule and make education a right for all, not a privilege for the few.
Pictures: Milwaukee Public Schools teachers and supporters demonstrate in front of the Milwaukee Public Schools administration building in Milwaukee, Wisconsin by Charles Edward Miller (Creative Commons).
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