Today is the 6oth anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education , the Supreme Court ruling that desegregated public schools. We all know that separate but equal was a farce that had to end. We would be remiss to go too far applauding "how far we've come" in the last 60 years.
As a parent, nothing saddens me more than to see the continued inequality in our education system. I always contend that classism is a much bigger problem in America than racism. If you are African-American and have money, than you can overcome many barriers. Policies like separate but equal crushed the poor more so than anybody else. In the same way, attending a school in a low-income neighborhood today will keep most kids five steps behind their peers. The Brown decision didn't get to the root of this issue.
I believe school choice is a answer, but not the answer. I personally would love for my son to go to our neighborhood school. He could learn and socialize with his neighborhood friends. It would also strengthen our connection to our community. Unfortunately, the school just doesn't perform well enough and I can't take chances on his education.
I'm further discouraged by the tools that are being used to fight school choice. One would think schools would start implementing serious reforms like reducing class size, improving infrastructure and investing in professional development for teachers and administrators so parents would be compelled to stay. Instead, political leaders are going back to the courts and using the very same orders that were designed to free students from a second class education decades ago to keep them in failing schools today.
Perhaps the answer doesn't exclusively lie with laws and regulations or barriers like racism or classism. Maybe its arrogant to think that we can control another's destiny by lifting someone up or holding them down. The more I live, the more I believe that with grit, determination and a lot of faith anyone can move mountains.
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