We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Saturday, June 21, 2014

A Bonehead Ruling

Click here to access article from Class War in America. 

The title refers to a recent judge's decision in Los Angeles declaring that teacher tenure was interfering with firing teachers and thus harming student's civil rights to a good education. The author argues that it is largely under-funding that is preventing children from receiving a good education. And, more importantly, he deals with larger issues adversely affecting the quality of education: the unequal funding of public schools resulting from a property tax method, the drive to privatize schools, and other issues.