We speak with Dr. Mark Santow, Chair of the Department of History at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth. Dr. Santow and his middle school son, along with 12 other plaintiffs, are suing the state of Rhode Island in federal court under the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution for failing to provide civics curricula and other components of an adequate education to some Rhode Island students. The suit is especially notable because most education equity cases are brought in state courts. We discuss the racial, socioeconomic, and political underpinnings of educational inequality.
Overview
00:00-01:29 Intros
01:30-06:21 Cook v Raimondo lawsuit background
06:22-08:02 A constitutional right to an education
08:03-09:44 Why Rhode Island and why now
09:45-11:27 Lack of civics and unequal funding
11:28-14:37 A vision of a civics curriculum
14:38-17:16 Rose of ethics/ethical decision-making in a civics course
17:17-19:40 Federal courts’ resistance to accepting adequate education as a constitutional right
19:41-21:23 Relationship to slavery/race
21:24-24:19 Can education system compensate for economic inequality
24:20-26:23 Civics as center of entire curriculum could be transformative
26:24-29:02 Public organizing and the lawsuit
29:03-29:45 Outro
Transcript
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Credits
Photo: Unsplash
Soundtrack by Podington Bear