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- Still Separate Still Unequal: Racism, Class and the Attack on Public Education

"Public education is under an unprecedented attack. The powerful people who want to privatize our schools are using many different means: charter schools, mayoral control, high stakes standardized testing, school closures, merit pay and attacking teacher unions are all a part of this assault. Often, these "reformers" claim that the sweeping changes they want will bring genuine educational justice for communities that have long been underserved -- especially for African American families. But will privatization actually create racial justice? Or will it exacerbate the problem? Will these "reforms" strengthen the educational rights of students and parents, or weaken them? Will turning education over to the free market lead to less segregated schools, or more so? Who is behind the effort to privatize education and why are they pursuing these changes? Is there an alternative way to reform our public schools? Come to a discussion of these and other urgent questions with NYC public school teacher and activist, Brian Jones.

Brian Jones is a teacher, actor, and activist in New York City. He is the co-narrator of the film, The Inconvenient Truth Behind Waiting for Superman, and a contributing author to the new book, Education and Capitalism: Struggles for Learning and Liberation (March 2012, Haymarket Books)."

Brian Jones On The Cost Of Testing And Who Benefits

From description of Youtube video:

"New York city teacher and member of the UFT Brian Jones is a member of Movement of Rank and File Educators (M.O.R.E.). He was also the co-narrator of an Inconvenient Truth Behind Waiting for Superman.
He spoke at a meeting on May 2, 2013 about testing in the schools sponsored by the San Francisco UESF group Educators For A Democratic Union."

Production of Labor Video Project www.laborvideo.org

Diane Ravitch & Brian Jones Discuss Education Funding and Policy on Democracy Now

 
From the Youtube Video Description:
" DemocracyNow.org - As millions of students prepare to go back to school, budget cuts are resulting in teacher layoffs and larger classes across the country. This comes as the drive towards more standardized testing increases despite a string of cheating scandals in New York, Atlanta, Washington, D.C., and other cities. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan also recently unveiled a controversial plan to use waivers to rewrite parts of the nation's signature federal education law, No Child Left Behind. Democracy Now! interviews New York City public school teacher Brian Jones and Diane Ravitch, the former Assistant Secretary of Education and counselor to Education Secretary Lamar Alexander under President George H. W. Bush, who has since this post dramatically changed her position on education policy. She is the author of "The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice Are Undermining Education."
 

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