We speak with Dr. Brian Jones, director of the New York Public Library’s Center for Educators and Schools, which provides all sorts of free resources to teachers and school administrators. Public schools, for all their flaws, are centers of power and potential for teachers and parents. As a historian, Dr. Jones draws parallels between Booker T. Washington and Geoffrey Canada of the Harlem Children’s Zone. In the aftermath of civil rights struggles, both accommodated the powerful and opposed collective efforts for systemic change.
Overview
00:00-00:47 Intros
00:47-03:55 Corporate school reforms vs. unions
03:55-09:04 Corporate reforms: who wins, who loses; public schools as a place where everyone is entitled to services
09:04-11:57 School choice and neighborhoods; collective vs. individual change
11:57-19:38 Democratic and Republican support for charters and choice
19:38-23:07 Complicated history of schools and neighborhoods
23:07-24:41 Historical Black leadership in fight for public schools
24:41-30:21 Efforts to separate racial justice from economic justice
30:21-41:47 Booker T. Washington and Geoffrey Canada
41:47-45:46 Implementation of progressive steps: keeping the redistributive potential
45:46-50:51 Jean Anyon
50:51- Outro
Transcript
Click here to see the full transcript of this episode.
Soundtrack by Podington Bear
Image: www.nysna.org