Opinion: The Curtain Is Pulled Back

You might have missed it, but the cat is out of the damn bag for education in this election season. On February 4, during his State of the Union speech, President Donald J. Trump officially signaled that the decades-long plan to dismantle public education in the United States was very, very real. 

Now, he didn’t quite use these words, and deciphering his underlying intent takes some critical analysis. Instead of being direct, he asked a child to stand up as he granted her a voucher to attend the school of her choice, signaling that he was saving her from having to attend, in his words, a “failing government school.”

To many, this was a joyous occasion. The president was helping a student find a better path in life. What’s not to celebrate?

This, however, is not the true story. When considered critically, this was the most visible representation of the national plan to end public education, and open the floodgates for voucher expansion and for the marketplace to double down on getting rich on public money. This was a national announcement that this administration supports returning to segregationist policies that have divided Southerners for decades. 

Our point here is to focus on the attack on public schools, which we also see as an attack on civil rights, democracy, and the public good. Dismantling public schools dismantles communities and democracy itself.

Perhaps you are wondering how we got here. If you have been involved in public education as a teacher, student, or parent over the past 20 years, then you are well aware of the sweeping changes brought about by the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation passed during the George W. Bush administration. In short, accountability, based on student test scores, became the measure of success in public education. When they didn’t reach the mark on these high-stakes assessments, schools and teachers were labeled as “failing” and Americans became convinced that public education in the United States needed to change. Stepping in to solve the problems of public schools were for-profit charters, vouchers, tax credits, and an onslaught of corporations staking their claim in a newly opened educational marketplace. The solution was to privatize public education, forcing public schools to compete with for-profit charters and religious and private schools, allowing the market to bring about balance.

Behind the scenes and far from the national conversation was an ongoing discussion that the real goal of NCLB and the accountability movement was to dismantle public education altogether. The accountability movement continued under the Obama administration, taking the form of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), which assessed schools using report cards. Add to this the Great Recession of 2008, and you have a perfect storm for the corporate takeover of public education. 

We mention the Great Recession not to remind you that the bailouts went to banks and automakers, but to make sure you know that school funding has yet to return to pre-2008 levels. Clearly, the idea that public schools are important to helping create a better South and a thriving democracy were less important than draining funds and creating conditions where public schools could be seen — and labeled — as “failing.” The wolves have been at the door for a while, but last month, President Trump pulled back the curtain and showed the wolves’ motivation. For the first time, an American president put all public schooling under the label “failing government schools.” In education committee meetings across the South right now, we guarantee there are already politicians calling their institutions of learning “government schools” instead of “public schools,” now that Trump has given the green light. Remember: Southern politicians resisted the federal government’s effort to desegregate schools using coded language, too. President Trump’s remarks allow elected officials at both state and federal levels to hide behind his language while promoting racist policies designed to further segregate schools and communities.  

These are surely dark times for public schools, teachers, students, and communities everywhere. We ignore this moment at our own peril. Too dramatic? We don’t think so. And if there ever was a time to be dramatic, to speak up, to resist, and to fight to keep the public in public education, now is the time. If we don’t, then we are standing with those who think we should get rid of the Department of Education and decrease funding even more for public schools. 

Deep down, we are optimists and vocal champions for public schools, students, teachers, and all the good they do for local communities. We remain optimistic that things can change for the better, because we believe teachers. We believe that communities throughout the South stand with their local teachers and will join the resistance to the corporate takeover of public education in the United States. We believe in a better South. 

Why the optimism? Because of the resistance rising from teachers all across the South. As odd as it might strike folks who aren’t from the South, our region’s teachers constitute a strong part of the resistance. And the narrative should not be that schools are failing their communities, but that we citizens are failing our public schools through our reluctance to act and speak out. If you want to learn about groups with Southern roots that are moving and shaking  the education landscape, consider the All Y’all Social Justice Collective, Teaching Tolerance, and Village of Wisdom, all groups we have highlighted in past columns here.   

What you can do?

Be part of a groundswell dedicated to reversing the narrative, to resisting a corporate takeover of public education. Support politicians who stand for the public good and not corporate interests. Adopt a vision of a better South that includes teachers standing up, active and vocal, in state and local politics. We need stronger connections between colleges and universities and public organizations to leverage local knowledge to address local needs in ways that strengthen democracy and the common good. We need to confront racism and racist policies that divide us. And we cannot think of a better way to help support this work than by renewing our commitment to public schools and a thriving system of public education. 

Now, this will not be easy, and it will not be quick. Nor should it be. To make this happen, we need to continue to build on the growing movement of Southern teachers acting politically to improve public schools for all students. We need to elect people who understand the value of strong public services and institutions, who will resist the corporate takeover of public schools and help change the national narrative that schools are failing. We need artists and musicians, scholars and local business owners, to leverage their privilege to bring about change and act in the interest of others. 

We need to move beyond quick conversations that point out how things are “failing” and should be better, and instead commit to work on improving public education for everyone. We need to do more than rip up speeches we do not agree with. We need to sit down and talk to teachers and listen to their stories and believe they are professionals who have solutions and can point us in a better direction. 

We need to act. Together. Now. Here’s to 2020, y’all.

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