To start, it’s important to explain what exactly is happening – where is this coming from? Since 2020, awareness of the flaws of our society has emerged. We learnt that the system we live in needs to be fixed. We see this in the concerns over oppression of marginalized groups, with capitalism, and through a new understanding of the function of our justice system. Because this challenges the traditional order, of course we will see resistance from the system we are trying to change – especially those dedicated to preserving it.

To pin the blame, reactionaries have pointed at our current education system. They especially have taken to targeting educators themselves, calling to abolish the Dept. of Education (which they have been calling for since 1979) and take on the teachers’ unions and destroy them. They also blame the current generation of students as well, equating them to be lazy, ungrateful, and “indoctrinated”. Their solution to the problem they essentially made up is to abolish public education. Wherever you stand on this issue, there is no doubt that we must realize we, as students, must act on this issue.

It is imperative that our students engage with the educational mode of production to ensure that each student has access to a free and safe education, and advocate better for the workplace conditions and rights for our educators. There are many open resources to do so. For example, working with groups that are dedicated to educational policy, such as the unions themselves, organizations such as the FutureForward Education Consortium or Human Restoration Project, or even alongside educators that are involved in some way. Even to just read and interpret these issues is a win against the attacks on Public Ed.

Overall, however, it is a necessity that we act against the modes that reactionary politicians have been using against public education to ensure that our students continue to reap the benefits of a safe, free, and open education for all.

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Sources in Order:

2 – Source of this Particular Statement – See Carter’s reimplementation of the Dept. of Ed. https://www.politico.com/agenda/story/2015/09/department-of-education-history-000235/

3 – FutureForward and Human Restoration Project Websites
https://www.futureforwardedu.org/ 1 | https://www.humanrestorationproject.org/ | 2