Weekly PRO-Democracy newsletter from Sam Fisher 🐝⚖💛 — Issue #12
Education Part 4 — Testing, Scholarships, Funding and systemic racism…
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Student Testing
The need to standardize Education on a federal level is far past due. I get state’s rights and the need for some autonomy but politics and political parties interfere with the process of education. Take one example. New York Education vs Florida. I was born and raised in Brooklyn and attended private and public schools (Shout out to St. John’s Cantius and IS 364 in Starrett City, and Tilden High!). By far I can unequivocally say I was challenged, and learned a lot. My family moved to Florida in the middle of my high school years. OH MY GOD!
When I arrived to Miami, I was first struck by the difference in the pace between the two cities I lived in. Brooklyn is fast paced, constant, and unyielding. You always have to be aware and on point in Brooklyn! Not so much in Miami. It was laid back and tranquil. Don’t get me wrong, the hood is the hood everywhere, but Miami was just not the same. But I digress, we are talking about education here!
The difference in Florida’s education was as a high school Junior, I felt like I was in remedial classes. The subject matter was 5th and 6th grade level! I can honestly say that outside of the new friends I made, high school was a disappointment. College was like high school. I went to a local community college since I could not afford to go to a better private college.
Here lies the problem. Without the benefit of a federalized system, the process of educating oneself is different each state you visit. In New York we had standardized testing to evaluate the TOTALITY of your education. In Florida they used to have State Student Assessment Test (SSAT) and the High School Competency Test (HSCT) that was eventually replaced by the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT). FCAT was the greatest scam forced on our educational system in Florida.
Schools were graded based on the pass/fail ratio of the FCAT. This led to teachers not teaching to educate but to pass the FCAT and secure funding for their school and to achieve a highfalutin grade for the school (oh look we’re and A school…). And guess who had a hand in that FCAT honey pot? Neil Bush. Who’s Neil Bush you ask?
Neil Bush is none other than Jeb Bush’s brother! That’s right! While Jeb is pushing FCAT on Florida, his brother Neil is introducing a testing mechanism for the FCAT. No conflict of interest though! Not at all! (Yeah right!!!)
Evidence that Bush family profits from Florida education — Progreso Weekly — progresoweekly.us
For any of you out there who wonders if I stretched the facts when I speculated there is more to Jeb Bush’s insistence on testing Florida school children — and creating new tests to meet those requirements… Here are a couple of interesting stories about Neil Bush, Jeb’s brother. As the Herald Tribune reveals, “Neil […]
Now that we have the players in place, lets get down to the nitty gritty. Whenever republicans are involved in ANYTHING know that its a sham. Its a money making scheme designed to look like a benefit to the most vulnerable Americans, and prominent republicans will be involved. Each element is highlighted in this one story. The Bush family (republicans), millions of dollars in funding for FCAT and related products (the money making scheme), and the vehicle was Jeb Bush’s plan to better education for Black and Brown children by identifying the deficiencies early on (the most vulnerable people).
All of this was done under the guise of helping us, specifically Black and Brown people, but the players are benefactors, supporters, and active participants in white supremacy! Nothing republicans do, ever, will be against white supremacy. They protect it with their lives (see Covid-19)!
The FCAT was not a means to identify areas where students need help. Absolutely not. It was designed to help white students, more affluent students, achieve academic excellence, thus win scholarships and grants to go to college, while further harming Black and Brown students. The test questions were created by white people for white people. Our children never had a chance to succeed under this program.
Bias in standardized testing is well documented and studied. Nothing really has been done since it never seems to garner the same attention other issue do.
The Racist Beginnings of Standardized Testing | NEA — www.nea.org
From grade school to college, students of color have suffered from the effects of biased testing.
Yet the practice persists and our children are the ones that are most harmed.
SCORES IMPROVE, BUT RACIAL GAP WIDENS ON FCAT — Sun Sentinel — www.sun-sentinel.com
Scores for black students in Palm Beach County have improved, according to the latest FCAT results. But they haven’t improved as much as scores for whites and Hispanics. As a result, the racial gap in test scores, a problem that is vexing educators across the state and nation, has widened, according to FCAT results released Thursday and Friday.
At the end of the day, when white people, who are benefiting from systemic racism, are testing and assessing our children, we lose.
Scholarships
That leads me to our next section, Scholarships. How are scholarships doled out? What are the criteria? And most importantly, who decides.
We all have gone through the college tours, applying to colleges and universities, and seeking out funding to go. What we, Black and Brown children, know all too well is that unless we are superstar athletes or graduating with academic honors, higher education is a dream deferred. Why is that though? Doesn’t the government provide assistance? Aren’t there scholarships for disadvantaged students? Hello what about the lottery?!?
Think of those things like this. You need 10 gallon of water to put out a fire and what is provided to you is a thimble. That is how scarce resources are for the majority of students seeking a college degree. Funding is under funded, republicans, and grants are strict and insufficient. Pell grants eliminate many institutions from the list of desired destinations simply because the difference between what you get and what a semester costs is a chasm. Many students don’t have the ability to get loans, or their parents cannot afford to go into further debt.
Before we continue, don’t start with the “Bernie/Progressives want to give you free education!” Republicans are fixed squarely against this. Democrats (us, the practical moderate ones) are for this as well. Its not an exclusive idea. Its been on our platform for a while now. Also, we believe in a comprehensive plan, not one that benefits white people who an AFFORD to be progressive (there’s some Black and Brown people in there see Bri Bri)!
PROVIDING A WORLD-CLASS EDUCATION IN EVERY ZIP CODE — Democrats — democrats.org
DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE 430 South Capitol Street Southeast Washington, DC 20003
I digress…
Without a federalized system we all fail. We dumb down our workforce, limit the pool of talent for science and research, and allow other countries to surpass us. To me this is a matter of national security. There is no other issue besides racial justice that equals education in importance. Our system of allocating scholarships is horrible.
Affirmative action only helps some of us get into prestigious institutions. We’re talking about several hundred per year. What about the millions of other students? What becomes of them? First of all, as our platform outlines, we need to provide a level of education that starts from birth. Every single child in America should be given the same opportunity to succeed. We all benefit from a diverse and EDUCATED America.
Systemic Racism
So we see how our educational system is fractured and setup to prevent all willing and able participants from achieving their goals. Couple that with racist teachers, racist adjacent, and willfully ignorant teachers who harm our children by labeling them as slow learners, hyperactive, or simply unruly. These designations follow our children for their entire educational life. There’s no appeal process, no proper vetting of the complaints, nor a fair and impartial venue to make these determinations. Systemic racism has a stranglehold on this process and is not about to let it go.
Charter schools are the appeasement tool used to quell any criticisms. “Look we are providing exceptional educational opportunities using Charter schools.” Nothing less than a comprehensive revamp of the system will do. It is necessary to root out systemic racism and level out the field for our children.
Fighting Systemic Racism in K-12 Education: Helping Allies Move From the Keyboard to the School Board — Center for American Progress — www.americanprogress.org
The surge of new allies in the Black Lives Matter movement for racial justice presents a welcome opportunity to implement systemic changes in the U.S. K-12 education system — and allies should start by following the lead of communities that are Black, Indigenous, and people of color.
The road to redemption for America starts with combating systemic racism. And like systemic racism, the fight is across all areas of our lives. The fight is intertwined wherever we find injustice. We can call out the injustice, but ultimately, white allies will have to sacrifice their privilege to help us eradicate systemic racism and create equitable experiences for ALL Americans.
Next Week…
We will take a journey into our history to see how we were educated and the advances we made in a time where we were supposed to be “uncivilized” cultures. Stay safe and thanks for reading!
