Yes, I know others chose this, too. Even this exact article. I tried to find another one, but I have too many thoughts about this one. The phrasing of “access to literacy” really caught my eye and made me think. I’ve never heard education put like that. It says that literacy, at least, is something partially to be given, not only earned through work. The “worked-for” idea is a lazy, unspoken opinion of well-educated people, I think, ridiculously often. I appreciate how this phrasing takes blame completely off students for being illiterate: I completely believe students have needs when it comes to learning.
After struggling to describe exactly how the ruling bothers me, I decided that it seems to challenge ethics with tradition, which is a terrible match-up. “Not a constitutional right” sounds like the result of language-combing alone, made important by the implied traditional significance of the Constitution. This decision’s making headlines because it so obviously isn’t the result of a conversation about our priorities, as its very real implications suggest it should be! It’s clear that education levels affect standards of living a ton and widen the wealth gap along racial lines. I don’t know how to solve all of it, of course, but I think conversations about it are the way to start. I don’t like how that sounds, either. I’ve heard “Have conversations” forever and always thought, “What does that even mean? Where? How?” And I still think those are fair questions. In the interest of time, though (as people’s lives continue to be made worse), just start wherever! Among friends, in classrooms, wherever you think it’s possible. After listening to a lifelong Detroit resident’s thoughts about race relations in Detroit a couple weeks ago at a Thursday event, I had trouble summing up my reactions. I ended up condensing them into that we need to talk about these issues more because the more we talk, the more time we spend looking for the right words, the more articulate we become about the problems, the more pieces of the problems become understandable enough to respond to, and the less overwhelming the issues become. It’s not a particularly shocking or elegant thought process, but I’ve found that it’s actually helped me. It’s given me energy to engage more with people who come into the office.
I met a high-schooler last week who was writing a blurb about why she wanted to work in our office through a program. She asked one of my bosses for help spelling and writing at a level that surprised me, and she’s who I thought of when I read this headline. We’re friends, and it’s her life that’ll be impacted by this harmfully hyper-academic court ruling, if we don’t find other ways to protect Detroit public education. How is that fair, and isn’t that exactly the point of justice?
Snaps!
I agree with it beginning with having a conversation, and appreciate you addressing the questions that arise when that is said. I also agree with how education is foundational in a lot, if not all of the inequalities that we see. Keep engaging and keep being you!
When looking for an article to write about this week. I too struggled with not posting this article. I didn’t end up posting it, partially because others already had, but also because I have too many thoughts about the article that I am not sure how to articulate yet. Mostly that although I disagree with the judges ruling and I do believe that we do have a duty to provide education to the youth of this country, especially if we want to see it continue on after us. This article is also not wrong in that currently the Constitution does not protect access to education as a fundamental human right, and maybe it should. My thought is this, what if rather than spend time educating ourselves on the issues that exist today, what if we begin to question what exactly it is we want from this country and from our Government? And what if we make access to a quality education a fundamental human right in this country, just like access to clean water, and access to quality basic healthcare for all.
I absolutely agree that there is a great need for dialogue about this issue. I firmly believe that education provides the foundation for which one’s life is built upon. Without the right to have “access to literacy,” many people will be left behind and the racial divide will continue to grow.