Monday, 2/24/97
Not all public schools are created equal
MISSION:
Gen-Xers must work to eradicate inadequacies of ‘democratic’
education system
By Amika M. Maran
A few weeks ago I read an interesting article about Generation X
titled "Where Have All the Causes Gone?" In light of this story and
the blanketing of our campus with "our millennium" chalk markings,
I’ve been asking myself if it’s true that all the causes are
gone.
There are those that firmly believe a war would be good for this
generation they’ve dubbed "Generation X." "It will teach them to be
humble and modest; it will teach them what it means to want and not
receive; it will teach them the difference between wanting and
needing." With which I will have to unquestionably agree. Do we
have a cause? Until there is world peace … of course we do.
We as Americans (not only Generation X) do indeed have a cause
that asks all of us to reevaluate what we need versus what we want.
In this age of instant credit and instant gratification, Americans
have forgotten the value of investment. We have a problem with
looking beyond our own noses. Who suffers at the hands of this
dangerous trend? American children suffer.
Public education is integral to a democratic nation. To those
that are fortunate enough to have been sheltered from this fact, I
would like to say that although America may have public schools,
they are certainly not democratic! In America, public schools are
funded primarily by the property taxes of the district in which
they lie. Accordingly, North Harlem and East St. Louis have little
to be desired by anyone seeking an actual education. There are
districts that to this day offer facilities that hearken back to
the days of Jim Crow, and you needn’t look far to find them.
At Manual Arts here in Los Angeles, one of our very own UCLA
professors was told not to waste time teaching these students how
to write: "They won’t be needing it where they’ll end up." And
still we wonder why America consistently has the lowest levels of
literacy of all the developed nations?
So, in light of this month of February, when we celebrate those
who have worked so hard to insure democracy, particularly Martin
Luther King Jr., Abraham Lincoln and yes, one could even argue for
slave-holding George Washington, we must continue to work toward
that democratic ideal upon which America was built. "Rome was not
built in a day."
To ensure democracy all American children must be given "equal
access to equal education." How easily we forget that Brown vs. the
Board of Education and the entire Civil Rights movement was an
effort left unfinished as it was so rudely interrupted by the
Vietnam War.
As you walk around in those nice new shoes you bought with that
credit card you were instantly given on Bruin Walk, think about
"our millennium" and our needs as a people. Don’t let your wants
overshadow our needs. Think about the innocent children who don’t
have the luxury of wanting since they spend so much time needing.
To those non-believers or those searching for a movement, I suggest
a visit to your local inner-city school. At the very least, pick up
any one of Jonathan Kozol’s many books revealing the inhumanity to
be found in the public schools we have in this "democracy" we know
as America.
For those graduating in June, the Teach for America deadline is
March 3. Their number is (800) 832-1230. If a two-year commitment
doesn’t interest you, try the many outreach programs offered here
at UCLA. There are kids in this country that go to schools with two
working toilets for 700 students! This is totally unacceptable in
any country, much less one as wealthy as our own.
Whether you agree or disagree with the debates surrounding
proposition 209 and affirmative action, one cannot argue when it
comes to civil rights violations at the expense of innocent
children.