Recently, the news headlined that 50 students from Detroit’s all-boys Fredrick Douglas Academy were suspended for protesting for a better education.
Detroit is currently in the center of a horrid financial crisis and the educational system is suffering as well. This institution in particular has been labeled as having the worst performance in an urban area in the nation.
Student claim teachers have been absent and that there’s been a lack of textbooks and basic structure. One math instructor has even been accused of being absent for 68 days—more than two months.
Despite criticism from both parents and students, improvements continue to lag.
I wonder what would happen if Chicago Public School students protested against budget cuts, unfair funding, shortage of basic supplies and the complete absence of transparency in the Chicago administration.
Not the selectively privileged who attend North Shore College Prep, Whitney Young or the Latin School of Chicago, but those who dodge bullets, pass vacant lots and liquor stores on every corner at William R. Harper High school in Englewood or Christian Fenger Academy in the notorious Altgeld Gardens community.
Illinois ranks 49th in state contribution to public education, which results in the apartheid structure that hinders places of learning in predominately black and brown neighborhoods. In addition, Illinois, especially in the Chicago area, has one of largest funding gaps, which equates to 44 percent of African-American prison inmates in jail solely from Cook County.
If only the students knew the quality of education they deserve. Parents fight but not enough. And sometimes there is no more fight left when they are struggling to keep their mortgages from falling underwater, the electricity on and at least a few meals on the table.
What would happen if students protested for more reading tutors in grade school?
What would happen if students protested for updated buildings to accommodate population increases within the last 30 years?
What would happen if students protested for modern technology to encourage exploration and to make their teacher’s job a little easier?
What would happen if students protested for America to stop funding wars and to start funding public education?
What do you think? Drop us a comment below!
Photo credit: myfoxdetroit.com