Education Was An Afterthought by R.M. Reid

As Susan DuFresne noted in her book, “The History of Institutional Racism in U.S. Public Schools” [ for hyperlink https://www.garnpress.com/…/the-history-of-institutional-ra… ] education seems to have been an afterthought when American government was being established because nowhere is it explicitly mentioned with regard to the Constitution except perhaps as a States’ rights topic or issue of discussion.

In my opinion, from the onset there weren’t serious considerations of adequate funding for public education and its survival and sustenance nor of adequate income for the individuals who would serve as the practitioners of the education profession.

For too long, there’s been the dependence on property taxes to fund public education. For too long, the politics of education have been left to the devices of the politicians rather than those on the education front lines, educators and education-related service providers. Those very politicians seemingly forgetting that “students’ learning conditions are teachers’ working conditions.” There’s no equivalency to saying you care about children’s maximum learning potentials if the environment of their learning space is minimized.

If American public education is to have its fullest potential effect for students met, the insecurities (income, shelter, food, clothing, health/welfare - IOW, basic human needs) of their parents/caregivers are not addressed.

In conclusion, after the publication of “A Nation at Risk” in 1983, this nation, the United States did not fully grasp the intersectionality of the approaches needed to remedy whatever ‘ailed’ our public education system. Instead, this country chose the route of relying on testing and test outcomes to determine the course of treatment.

Contributed by R.M. Ried, BAT