From the outside looking in, it always surprises me that education isn't a larger campaign issue. It's potentially a unifier of both left and right, since "I believe my child should be educated to a good standard and education shoudn't be elitist" is something literally everyone can get behind. When you get into details it gets trickier to appease both sides, but it should be fairly easy to create a decent non-partisan education plan, surely? Or am I missing something?
The problem as I see it:
A "non-partisan education" plan might work in a state such as OK because all tiers of education - primary, secondary, tertiary - have been slashed to the point of debilitation. We all agree that schools need more funding. Now, some people here seem loath to lay the blame where it belongs (i.e., at Republicans' feet), but they'll at least acknowledge the crisis and perhaps vote for Democrats who promise to fix it. (Next week's special election will tell us if we have a trend!)
However, once you progress beyond "education needs more money," a unifying issue, you encounter some of the enduring, divisive conflicts. To state matters bluntly, a lot of racist white people can't stomach the thought of their kids attending school with black people. That disgusting fact has been the basis of every educational battle in the last 63 years, since
Brown v. BoE. The fuss over the "inconvenience" of busing? White people wanted to keep black kids away from white schools. This new voucher craze? Rich white parents get a reprieve on tuition and get to remove their kids from "failing" (i.e., black and brown) public schools. The fight over the inequitable property tax scheme used for school funding? White people like that their richer zip codes net them better schools. Education functions as a microcosm of society, and we won't fix the issues with our public schools until we fix society's issues with race. Just as campaigning explicitly on race alienates the white supremacists, campaigning on specific education issues also ignites their bigotry - again, because the educational realm serves as an encapsulation of broader racial issues.
The moment Democrats make education a campaign centerpiece, the dog whistles will start, and those particular dog whistles, particularly "school choice,"
have been effective.
But what does a neoliberal shill English teacher know?
