redefinED
The aim of redefinED is to recast the way we perceive public education. Far too often, the debate over any education program begins first with an assessment of whether it undermines traditional neighborhood public schooling. But today’s school systems and public policies have exploded the historical definition of a public education. It’s time our discourse did so as well. - See more at: http://www.redefinedonline.org/about/
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Public education has always existed at the crowded intersection of race, class, money and power. While both political parties have had to navigate the confluence of these cross currents, over the last 50 years the Democratic Party has been the most impacted. The recent Vergara v. California decision suggested teacher unions, which primarily represent a white middle-class constituency, are an obstacle to providing low-income children of color with a quality education. I spent the first 16 years of my professional career as a teacher union leader, and I agree. The industrial unionism teachers have been using since the 1960s is a major impediment to equal opportunity for low-income children. But the problem isn’t bad people; it’s a bad system.