Polly Hughes
“Education
is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”
―
Nelson Mandela
Education is, indeed, the key to
changing the world. As our forefathers declared, “We hold these truths
to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by
their Creator with certain unalienable Rights. . . that among these are Life,
Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” Declaration of
Independence
But, what’s happening in the name of
education reform today is not going to change the world in the way that Mandela
or the authors of The Declaration of Independence meant. In
America, under the guise of education reform, an initiative called Common
Core is an insurance policy issued by some of the most powerful think tanks
and foundations of both the left and right to mega-corporations, such as
Walmart.
Ultimately, Common Core, through its behaviorist methods,
will provide legions of workers educated-in-name-only, ready to accept
low-wages inside union-less quasi-sweatshop service jobs. The 1% gets
wealthier while the 99% are mired deeper into austerity and have no recourse
but to accept these conditions set by employers.
Poor education can lead to poverty
and desperation. Walmart, along with many any other big-box retailers,
welcome the poor and uneducated. Profits will continue to roll in
while goods are produced in foreign countries by cheap labor, and free trade is
the handout from the government to corporations. Never mind that an
educated workforce means more consumer spending, happier families with equal
opportunities, a content population of highly-skilled workers in jobs they
like; in other words, a prosperous United States of America with a strong
education system, low poverty, and equality for all.
