Published Dec. 2, 2016 in The Wave
School Scope: Vouchers are Coming, Vouchers are Coming!!!
By Norm Scott
“The first American
schools in the thirteen original colonies opened in the 17th century. Boston
Latin School was founded in 1635 and is both the first public school and oldest
existing school in the United States. The first tax-supported public school was
opened in Dedham, Massachusetts, in 1644.”…. Wikipedia
With the coming Trump administration threatening to create a
voucher system, we face an upcoming elimination of almost 400 years of public
education. It won’t happen immediately but over time we will see a withering
away of the entire fabric of free public education in this nation, and along
with it I believe a similar withering away of 225 years of democracy. A viable
public school system is part of the foundation of American democracy where a
national identity can be forged. Break public ed and you break the ties that
can bind Americans together.
Is it even worth talking about public education in the Trump
Era, which the president elect has termed a “monopoly”, after appointing
billionaire Betsy DeVos, the queen of vouchers, as education secretary? And
thus we face the possible demise of an institution that has been the backbone
of democracy in this nation since almost its founding.
The Jewish Forward posted a story titled, “Betsy DeVos as
Secretary of Education? That’s a Tragedy for All American Jews.” It is worth quoting a section from the
article, which can be read in full at http://forward.com/opinion/355478/betsy-devos-as-secretary-of-education-thats-a-tragedy-for-all-american-jews/
“For generations of
American Jews, public education has been the gateway to American life. It was
certainly true for my parents, the children of immigrants; public school taught
them not just facts and figures, but alao how to be American — and how to be
proud of being American. Which is why the nomination of Betsy DeVos as
secretary of Education, while not surprising, is so deeply sad. DeVos is not
merely a conservative and a Republican Party activist; she is one of the
country’s most powerful advocates for ending public education entirely and
replacing it with religious schools, for-profit charter schools and home
schooling. Her foundation is widely credited as the primary engine behind the
so-called “school choice” movement, which has led to the establishment of
voucher programs in 13 states since 2000. Moreover, DeVos’s billionaire family,
the members of which made their money in the Amway pyramid scheme, is one of
the top five funders of the Christian right, having given hundreds of millions
of dollars to the likes of Focus on the Family, the Family Research Council,
the Heritage Foundation and dozens of Christian schools across the country.
DeVos isn’t just the fox in charge of the henhouse — she’s the shochet, the
slaughterer.”
Word is that many Jews in the orthodox community voted for
Trump in higher numbers than secular Jews. So for them this may not a tragedy,
since orthodox Jews who don’t send their kids to public schools can use public
money for religious schools, as of course can Catholics and Muslims. With the
attacks on Muslims can you see some religions being “unflavored”?
Every religious organization and every wood-be religious
group, even bogus ones, will try to get in on the gravy train. Charters are in
heaven over the chance to take over public school functions and property. Every
school can will its own curriculum, thus fragmenting the American experience
into smithereens.
Rockaway writing
workshops
Switching gears, I’ve been in a writing group for about 10
years. Writing groups offer a very supportive environment to have your work
critiqued and due to my colleagues I’ve begun doing something I never thought I
would do – writing a novel, one of the hardest things I’ve tried to do.
Now Rockaway has its own writing workshop. If you’ve been
hankering to write the great American novel or your memoir, or some poetry, Claire
Van Winkle, one of our local hot yoga instructors at Hot Yoga Rockaway Beach on
116th St., also teaches composition, creative writing, and literature
at CUNY and SUNY colleges and she has been offering 6-week writing workshops in
Rockaway. The next session will be
offered on Wednesdays, beginning January 4. Email Claire at info@rockawaywritersworkshop
for details.
Claire created a 10% discount code for WAVE readers who
would like to try the 6-Class Card (listed under “Packages”). Enter code
EDNOTES10 on the checkout page at http://www.rockawaywritersworkshop.org
Coming soon from
Claire, writing therapy workshops
Turning the Page: Making Sense of the Stories We Tell
Ourselves, a community group designed to help individuals use writing to work
through problems like depression, loss, trauma, and major life changes based on
a program she developed that applies
writing workshop pedagogy and clinical psychology approaches (such as
cognitive-behavioral theory) to group therapy. She’s run weekly sessions at the
New York State Psychiatric Institute. While the program was created for a
clinical setting, Claire hopes to bring her experience to the Rockaway/Broad
Channel/Howard Beach area, helping those whose
silent struggles might be alleviated through guided expression.
Claire’s bio and CV are available at http://www.rockawaywritersworkshop.org/about-the-teacher/
Norm blogs at ednotesonline.org
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