Political

Education did not just become political and it has never been political in just one place. Being an outsider really doesn’t have anything to do with it. Being observant and involved anywhere you are has everything to do with it. In my experience in NC, education has been politicized in large part by the particular way it has been connected to labor issues and economics and by the system of patronage that in some circumstances determines who gets jobs, who doesn’t and why. Educators, board members, parents, other elected officials, and citizens like to say, think and believe that education is not political. We, all of us, are up to our ears in politics, always have been, and are not serving our children well when we fail to recognize that fact. It would certainly help if the Democrats and Republicans involved would recognize that an awful lot of people are not too thrilled with either of them, stop fighting to figure out who gets to control education and start having conversations about how to educate our children equitably to be good citizens and make their own decision, not just be someone’s ”workforce.” They are children, not a labor commodity.