Saving the Commons: This I Believe | Diane Ravitch's blog

Saving the Commons: This I Believe | Diane Ravitch's blog

Saving the Commons: This I Believe

Privatization of important parts of the public sector is a great scourge of our times. No institution is more fundamental to the American Dream than public education, and it is under assault by powerful and well funded forces. By billionaires who have dreams of lower taxes and libertarians who want to destroy whatever government provides. We must fight privatization of the goods and services that belong to us.

Frankly we should join together to fight for a society where there are no billionaires and no poverty. Let us agree to take care of one another and have a fairer society, where everyone has a decent standard of living, where there is no hunger or homelessness. I recommend a book called The Spirit Level: Why Greater Equality Makes Societies Stronger, in which two British sociologists-Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett-demonstrate that societies with more equality are happier than those where great inequality persists. By contrast, scan Bloomberg Billionaires Index. I am not a socialist, but I don’t believe we should have either billionaires or poverty.

The pandemic impoverished millions of people. But the billionaire class got richer, much much richer. Senator CONTINUE READING: Saving the Commons: This I Believe | Diane Ravitch's blog

Watch LIVE: Breonna Taylor’s America | Cloaking Inequity

Watch LIVE: Breonna Taylor’s America | Cloaking Inequity

WATCH LIVE: BREONNA TAYLOR’S AMERICA

The University of Kentucky College of Education is hosting an online discussion, “Navigating Your Teens in Breonna Taylor’s America,” beginning 11 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 12.

Focused on empowering students and educators, the discussion will be streamed live on the College of Education YouTube channel. Participants are encouraged to submit questions via email at CollegeofEdQA@gmail.com.

The discussion is designed to offer guidance to youth as they search for justice while balancing school, work, friendships, family and their personal well-being. Panelists will answer questions, such as:

• What is the “arc of justice” and why does it take so long to get there? Will we ever?
• How do I focus on school while trying to process racial traumas?
• Why does it feel like some people don’t see my pain and stress?
• How do I find my voice and where does it fit in?
• How can teachers and school leaders embrace students during painful events, such as the Breonna Taylor decision?

The discussion will be moderated by Gregory Vincent, executive director of the college’s Education and Civil Rights Initiative in collaboration with the NAACP. The initiative is based in the Department of Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation, where Vincent is a professor. Panelists for this program will include:

• Tiffany D. Loftin, NAACP Youth and College Division national director; 
• Candice Hargons, assistant professor, Department Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology; 
• Cheryl Matias, professor, Department of Curriculum and Instruction;
• Kenneth Tyler, professor and chair, Department of Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology; and
• Carol Taylor Shim, director, UK’s Bias Incident Support Services.

The University of Kentucky is increasingly the first choice for students, faculty and staff to pursue their passions and their professional goals. In the last two years, Forbes has named UK among the best employers for diversity, and INSIGHT into Diversity recognized us as a Diversity Champion three years running. UK is ranked among the top 30 campuses in the nation for LGBTQ* inclusion and safety. UK has been judged a “Great College to Work for” three years in a row, and UK is among only 22 universities in the country on Forbes’ list of “America’s Best Employers.” We are ranked among the top 10 percent of public institutions for research expenditures — a tangible symbol of our breadth and depth as a university focused on discovery that changes lives and communities. And our patients know and appreciate the fact that UK HealthCare has been named the state’s top hospital for four straight years. Accolades and honors are great. But they are more important for what they represent: the idea that creating a community of belonging and commitment to excellence is how we honor our mission to be not simply the University of Kentucky, but the University for Kentucky.

Sharing is caring: 

Watch LIVE: Breonna Taylor’s America | Cloaking Inequity