Power and Politics in Education:Who Controls Education Policy? The Left? The Right? or Teachers and Parents?
A few months ago I began getting e-messages to join actions sponsored by #BlackLivesMatteratSchools,
- End Zero Tolerance
- Mandate Black Studies #ethnicstudies
- Hire More Black Teachers
- Fund Counselors Not Cops
Back in October at the Network for Public Education conference I met the teacher from Seattle who was leading the movement. The motion was introduced at the January delegates meeting at the UFT, the NYC teachers union. The motion was overwhelmingly rejected, teachers are, by nature, cautious.
The student behavior code in New York City is spelled out in minute detail, zero tolerance does not exist and suspensions at the school and superintendent level are closely controlled by the overlords. I believe curriculum should be determined, to the extent possible, by teachers at the school level, and, New York State is embarking on a statewide Culturally Relevant Pedagogy initiative. The Men Teacher in Education program, richly funded by the city encourages men of color to enter schools of education in the City University. And, I would change the last “Ask” to “Fund Counselors AND cops.”
Teachers want orderly schools, and have mixed feelings about the #blacklivematteratschool agenda.
A core question: will the asks/demands of #blacklivesmatterinschools lead to better outcomes for student of color or satisfy the philosophies of a small group of activists? Even deeper, who controls educational policies: elected/appointed school boards, educational (de)reformers, Unions, parents, or a power establishment with an agenda to control schools and other social services?
Is the #blacklivesmatterinschools an example of Critical Policy Analysis?
- Challenging traditional notions of power, politics and governance
- Examining policy as discourse and political spectacle
- Centering the perspectives of the marginalized and the oppressed
- Interrogating the distribution of power and resources
- Holding those in power accountable for policy outcomes
Janelle Scott (UC Berkeley) Sonya Douglas-Horford (Teacher College) and Gary CONTINUE READING:Power and Politics in Education:Who Controls Education Policy? The Left? The Right? or Teachers and Parents? | Ed In The Apple
