Sunday, July 18, 2010

Laying Bare the Economic Inequalities in the American Education System

by Tony Wilsdon from Socialist Alternative. The is a review of the book,”Tearing Down the Gates: Confronting the Class Divide in American Education”, by Peter Sacks.
One the most important contributions of this book to the debate on education is the way Sachs has rooted the problems of education within the wider economic system. You cannot solve the growing inequalities and problems in our education system without also addressing these underlying issues of economic disparity, class and a capitalist system falling into deeper and deeper crisis. Any ‘solution’ to the educational crisis has to address the issue of families overwhelmed by poverty, often working massive numbers of hours or juggling two or more jobs, low wages and now the growing crisis of mass unemployment.