Reform for Other People's Children
Author and advocate Mike Klonsky again writes to Deborah Meier today. This his final post before Bridging Differences takes its annual summer break. Deborah Meier will reply on Thursday.
"What the best and wisest parent wants for his child, that must we want for all the children of the community. Anything less is unlovely, and left unchecked, destroys our democracy." —John Dewey
Deb,
I'm sad, in a way, that this will be our last exchange before Bridging Differences takes its annual summer break. After some early burning-bridges trepidation, I've come to enjoy our dialogue as I hope our readers have. I'm not complaining, though. I could use a little vacation, and I'm sure you could, too.
I hope you enjoyed the FairTest presentation of the Deborah Meier Award to Michelle Fine. Wish I could have been there. There's no one I can think of who's more deserving of an award named after you than Michelle, one of my heroes, whose work as a researcher and education activist has been an inspiration for so many in the field.
You made some great points in your last post about how America views urban and rural culture and schools, and how the term "urban" has taken on new meaning since the days of Blackboard Jungle. The point isn't lost on us here in Chicago, where the mayor sends his kids to the expensive, private, and "progressive" University of Chicago Lab Schools, created by John Dewey himself over a century ago.
Lab is certainly not seen as an urban (code for failing, poor, black, or Latino) school, even though it sits on the city's South Side. Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who holds autocratic power over our public school system, wouldn't dream of sending his own children to an "urban" school—not even one of his pet, privately run charters or his chi-chi selective-enrollment schools that are popping up faster than Starbucks in gentrifying neighborhoods.
He sends the kids to Lab (Arne Duncan's alma mater) because he is a wise enough and wealthy enough parent to know the benefits of a small, well-staffed school with a highly qualified, Reform for Other People's Children - Bridging Differences - Education Week: