As Schools Crumble: Quiet Call for Revolution in Philly
You will not be able to plug in, turn on and cop out.Last week, the city of Philadelphia’s school system announced that it expects to close 40 public schools next year, and 64 schools by 2017. The school district expects to lose 40% of its current enrollment, and thousands of experienced, qualified teachers.
You will not be able to skip out for beer during commercials,
Because the revolution will not be televised …
The revolution will be live.
— From the 1970 hit song by Gil Scott-Heron
But corporate media in other cities made no mention of these massive school closings – nor of those in Chicago, Atlanta, or New York City. Even in the Philadelphia media, the voices of the parents, students and teachers who will suffer were omitted from most accounts.
It’s all about balancing the budgets of cities that have lost revenues from the economic downturn. Supposedly, there is simply no money for the luxury of providing an education for the people.
Where will those children find an education? Where will the teachers find work? Almost certainly in an explosion of private sector “charter schools,” where the quality of education – from the curriculum to books to the food