Education IS Power
by Bryan Sanguinito
Posted on www.facebook.com/EasternPSEA from a speech I gave as regional president at a recent leadership conference)
Over two hundred years ago, visionary leaders - names that will live on throughout history - advocated for a system of public education for ALL citizens because they recognized its power.
Today, small-minded politicians - names that will be forgotten within a generation - are trying to dismantle that system of public education because they, too, recognize its power.
The power of possibility, for our students and teachers alike. The power that a fairly-funded and properly provided education can have in the life of a child. The power to not only excel, but to exceed one’s own expectations. The power to achieve the American Dream, regardless of our race, religion, gender identity, ZIP code, or socioeconomic status.
There is a reason that Nelson Mandela said, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.
You see, Education IS power.
And that is why so many politicians who are in the pockets of privateers and profiteers are trying to legislate us out of a job and legislate our students out of a high-quality public education.
Education is the movement from darkness into light. As educators and education support professionals, we enlighten. We empower. We embolden.
We speak the truth. We ask questions. We refuse to be obsequious. We persist. We resist.
Politicians have vilified our noble profession --- taking care of our neighbors’ children --- and have tried to turn those very neighbors against us. They have force-fed our citizens the outrageous myth that they alone know what is best.
But we know better… and so do our supporters. When it comes to doing what is right for our profession, our schools, our students, and their families, WE ABSOLUTELY KNOW BETTER than agenda-driven legislators who want to deny our schoolchildren a thorough and efficient system of public education. How ironic that a concept established by our forefathers – an education system in which EVERY CHILD is afforded an equal opportunity at success – now serves as the last bastion for social justice throughout this nation.
The fact that grand American ideals such as fairness and equality are woven into the fabric of public education is something that inspires us, but infuriates our opponents! Therefore, their vitriolic attacks keep coming: against our benefits, against our pensions, against our ability to collect dues, and against our ability to advocate for ourselves. The same hypocritical Badass Teachers Association: Education IS Power by Bryan Sanguinito: