We all know the terms: vouchers, standards, charter schools, choice, the stuff of education as practiced by policymakers. But for those on the frontlines of urban schools, teachers and students and parents – many of these terms ring hollow.
Here the fight over education isn’t a policy debate, it’s a streetfight, a daily, knock down, drag out battle with and for children. Children for whom a public school education is their only shot. For these students, whether they know it or not, education is a lifeline. And for too many, that lifeline is stretched, frayed and failing.
Currently 3.5 million children in this country are stuck in failing schools. Though some may transfer out, the vast majority will stay and suffer, or stay and strive.
Guests:
Isaura Mendes, community activist in Dorchester, MA
Sandra Simpson, Social Studies teacher at Dorchester High School in Boston, MA
Pedro Noguera, Judith K. Dimon Professor in Communities and Schools at the Harvard Graduate School of Education