I’ve just read DPS ADVOCATES TELL OBAMA: STOP DESTRUCTION OF PUBLIC EDUCATION, which was written on September 1, 2012 by Diane BuKowski. I regret that I did not read this article when it was contemporary, however it is still relevant today and not only to Detroit, but to the entire country and world.
The article summarizes a meeting between local representatives of Detroit and federal representatives, during which they discuss the conditions of Public schools in Detroit. Basically, Detroit residents voiced their concerns about the constitutionality and outcomes of the State of Michigan taking-over Detroit Public Schools. The Detroit residents describes the injustices occurring concerning public education in Detroit. For instance, public schools were being closed and their buildings being rebuilt -using federal loans allotted to the public schools, however when the building reopened it was being used for charter schools. (Something I can attest to.)
Art by a DPS student.
What is particularly unjust about privatizing public schools’ amenities and transforming the public district into a charter district is that it gives the public -as in the students and the parents of those students, less and possibly no representation. Additionally, teachers and other workers at the schools are disenfranchise: unions are weaken or destroyed, pay is less, and often it disqualifies the benefits of being a certified teacher.
The article also insinuates about possible corruption at the state level, and features descriptions of student protest of the closing of public schools and powerful insights from leaders in Detroit.
This article was very gratifying for me because it talked about the issue of Public education in Detroit within the entire context -federal, state, and local government. The article vindicates that the conditions of Detroit are not an isolated anomaly, but a reflection and result of what is occurring in the entire nation and world.
I think what is happening concerning education is egregious, it is an offense to human rights. Schools are closing and children have nowhere to go. Teachers and school workers with family are being exploited with no regard.
Kids waiting outside of the meeting.
Here’s the Link
http://voiceofdetroit.net/2012/09/04/dps-advocates-tell-obama-stop-destruction-of-public-education/
(All pictures included are from the article in the link above.)
Hi Lauren! I thought this was a really interesting article to read about, especially since I work with DPS. I’m mostly doing research regarding the Go Green Challenge so I generally don’t here too much about the topic, but everyone once in a while my boss will talk about what happens to old closed down schools. Some time the state will take them or a private charter school will buy it. Either way I think that it’s good since these closed building aren’t being used for anything else, but I think (as you mentioned) there are a lot more issues when it comes to this topic.
This is a really interesting article you summarized. I knew if DPS went chartered, problems would arise. I did not, however, realize how bad it would be. Never would I have imagined that teachers would become disenfranchised or that unions would dissolve. Thank you for your post 🙂
I enjoyed this post because the community of Highland Park, where I work, is experiencing the closing of their only public high school. Kids will have to start making long commutes to different schools and start over in unfamiliar settings. Education is too important for the futures of these children to be taken lightly.