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Opinion Schools: A Failing Grade in Chicago “Challenging People to Shape a Better Future Now” B ERNIE F OSTER Founder/Publisher B OBBIE D ORE F OSTER Executive Editor T ED B ANKS Advertising Manager J ERRY F OSTER Account Executive L ISA L OVING News Editor H ELEN S ILVIS Multimedia Editor D AVID K IDD Graphic Designer M ONICA J. F OSTER Seattle Office Coordinator J ULIE K EEFE S USAN F RIED Photographers d f The Skanner Newspaper, established in October 1975, is a weekly publica- tion, published each Wednesday by IMM Publications Inc., 415 N. Killingsworth St., L ast week, emboldened edu- cators in Chicago who are members of the American Federation of Teachers finally euphemistically said enough is enough and put their collective feet down on the streets by striking against the city of Chicago, and the so-called reform of national education favored by the White House and United States Depart- ment of Education. Beyond mischaracterizations by the corporate-owned media teach- ers in Chicago are not looking for a free ride on the reform bus, but are challenging the very structure of American education. In short, the chalk board is divided into two sides: One that enhances and sus- tains public educators—from pay to preparation, to pensions, and another that would privatize the $600 million American education system to the highest bidder for profit. The question to be answered is whether public education should be privatized? Unfortunately, it seems that Mayor Rahm Emanuel, current Chicago Mayor and for- mer White House Chief of Staff is on the wrong side of the issue. The Chicago teachers have the right answer. A review of American public educational history is useful. In 1853, against the will of the wealthy and corporate barons, the United States established a public school system for all students (in theory). Prior to that, only White children of the rich and resourced were privileged to be educated until high school or college. Fol- lowing the American Civil War, B LACK L EADERSHIP Gary Flowers the federal government launched the Reconstruction in which pub- lic school for Black and White students—albeit separate and unequal—existed. In 1896, The United States Supreme Court ruled 1960s such “leaders” realized that their public taxes were going to schools in which Black children were being educated. Thus, the first of education voucher ideas appeared to allow White parents to opt to send their kids to virtually all-White public schools in addi- tion to their private schools. By the 1970s, courts instituted mandatory busing to public schools to enforce the “all deliber- ate speed” phrase included in the Brown case. In the 1990s, the concept of pub- The problem was never the public schools and public teacher unions, but rather the lack of full funding by the federal government and support for public unions that represent public teachers in the Plessey v Ferguson case that a racially separate national school system was constitutional. By the 1930s Charles Hamilton Houston and Black civil rights lawyers challenged the racially separate and unequal national education system that culminated in the sem- inal Supreme Court case of Brown v. Board of Education, in 1954. After Brown, the idea of privati- zation began by White parents who did not want the children to attend public schools with Black children. White business leaders and clergy aligned to establish all- White, private academies. In the lic charter schools was developed across the country. The idea was to use public funds to create pri- vate schools with private sector money and private investors. Yes, “Public Charter” schools have pri- vate investors who seek financial dividends. Public education should be an American right and not a private privilege. In the name of “reform,” Charter schools arose as the public school system and its teachers were vilified as failing to educate students. The problem was never the public schools and public teacher unions, but rather the lack of full funding by the federal government and support for public unions that rep- resent public teachers. Currently, the federal govern- ment only contributes 9 percent of public school funding. The other 91 percent is allotted by state and local educational entities. In many cities Public Charter Schools are used as an alternative threat to public teachers should their test scores not rise. In effect, the White House’s “Race to the Top” educational program forces teach- ers and school districts to compete for funding. Predictably, teaching the tests to students, and cheating on tests has resulted. Enter Chica- go teachers. By standing up to give the right answer Chicago teachers are chal- lenging the entire public school and public union debate. In a revealing sense, the fight that pub- lic unions fought in Wisconsin against a right-wing Republican governor last year is playing out in Chicago against a Democratic Mayor, and by silence the Demo- cratic White House. Hmmmm! If American pubic school stu- dents are to compete with their counterparts around the world, our nation must declare public educa- tion a matter of national security. As such, teachers need to be paid well with livable pensions, public teacher unions need to be support- ed, facilities need to be upgraded to 21st century standards, and the White House and Congress should support legislation rewards—not punishes—public educators. Read the rest online at www.theskanner.com P.O. Box 5455, Portland, OR 97228. Telephone (503) 285-5555. E-mail: info@theskanner.com World Wide Web site: http://www.theskanner.com Fax: (503) 285-2900 The Skanner is a member of the National Newspaper Pub lishers Associ- ation and West Coast Black Pub lishers Association. All photos submitted become the property of The Skanner. We are not re - spon sible for lost or damaged photos either solicited or unsolicited. © 2012 The Skanner. ALL RIGHTS RE SERVED. REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART WITHOUT PERMISSION PROHIBITED. To see The Skanner News on your smart phone go to theskannermobile.com or scan this QR code with your app. • • • • • • • • Local news Opinions Jobs, Bids Sports Entertainment Music reviews Bulletin board RSS feeds Page 4 The Portland Skanner Double Whammy: Poverty, Unemployment L ast week, we learned that African American unem- ployment rates stayed level last month, with an absurdly high official unemployment rate of 14.1 percent. Unemployment rates for African American men fell, while those for African American women rose. These rates are way too high and under- state the extent of pain that exists in the African American commu- nity. The philosopher Albert Camus wrote, “Without work all life is rotten,” because so many people value and define themselves by the work they do. Indeed, at many professional social gatherings the first, second, or third question is: “What do you do?” Work seems to anchor us to stability, and to the world. Too many African Ameri- can people have no anchor. While President Obama, Vice President Biden and other key Democrats have acknowledged that unemployment rates are not falling quickly enough, few deal with the psychic effects that unem- ployment has on the person. For many, it causes a malaise and a sense of absolute disconnection. Others feel disillusioned and depressed, although others use their own talent at entrepreneur- ship to create work where there is none, using skills to offer goods and services to their neighbors. We don’t need government data to validate the pain that many in September 19, 2012 B ENNETT C OLLEGE Julianne Malveaux the African American community experience, far more pain than experienced in other communi- new data on income and poverty suggest, again, that African Amer- icans experience a greater burden than others in our society. The poverty rate among African Amer- icans rose from 27.6 to 27.8 percent. Some might describe these num- bers as “not statistically significant,” but try telling that to the 200,000 more African Ameri- cans in poverty. Overall, poverty rates dropped slightly from 15.2 to We don’t need government data to validate the pain that many in the African American community experience, far more pain than experienced in other communities ties. The overall unemployment rate dropped from 8.3 to 8.1 per- cent with African American unemployment staying level, means some are enjoying our tepid economic recovery, while others are waiting for gains to trickle down. Unemployment data were released on September 7, and the poverty data released on Septem- ber 12. That’s a double whammy for African Americans. Not only is the employment situation stag- nant, with “real” unemployment rising as high as 25 percent, but 15.1 percent. This means that nearly one in six Americans expe- rience poverty, while one in four African Americans and Hispanics experience poverty. Incomes have dropped by more than 8 percent in 2007, and again African Americans have lost more. While household incomes fell by 1.5 percent between 2010 and 2011, African Americans incomes fell by 2.7 percent, the largest drop of any racial or ethnic group. I don’t mean to underesti- mate anyone’s pain. All incomes fell, but African American incomes fell most. African Amer- ican incomes hit their peak in 1999 at $38,700. Today, with dollars adjusted, the amount is $32,200, the lowest level since 1997. At the top or at the bottom, African Americans lost ground. In the face of this double wham- my, how do we answer the Reagan question: “Are you better off than you were four years ago?” Econ- omists have described the “misery index” as the sum of unemploy- ment rates and poverty rates, and using that index, all of America has seen erosion in status. Still, legislation to improve both poverty and unemployment rates has been stuck in legislative grid- lock because House Republicans would rather see people suffer than to see President Obama appear successful. But for the obduracy of House Majority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) and his posse, including Vice Presi- dential candidate Paul Ryan (R-WI), we might see lower unemployment and poverty rates. More importantly, the Congres- sional Budget Office says that extreme spending cuts and lower tax rates for the wealthy will plunge us into recession in six months or so. As President Barack Obama says, we have choices; we are at a fork in the road. The dou- ble whammy of poverty and unemployment is a body blow. Spending and tax cuts will take African Americans from the hos- pital into the emergency room.
