Maureen TaylorIn the 1950-60’s, Detroit recorded our largest population, somewhere around 1.8 million residents living in this grand city where automobile manufacturing ruled. To get a job paying good money was a snap, as one needed to be able to read and write to work the complicated machinery and use the assembly line tools, so education that taught basic reading, writing and math was necessary. When technology arrived, it brought with it the need to re-arrange the order of things…fewer and fewer workers were needed to produce cars, and steel, and food, and medicine, so workers were laid off in greater and greater numbers. How much does it cost to hire a worker for eight hours? A lot more than it costs to hire a robot who doesn’t need a salary, time off, a raise or a bathroom break.
The other thing that computers don’t need is public education. We don’t need it either. Because we can no longer produce for these mega-corporations, we don’t need academics. This is the state of education in Detroit.
“the state of education in Detroit is in turmoil”
Children and their parents are leaving the city in busloads…we are down to less than 900,000 city residents, because unemployment and opportunities are so depressed. The corporate community engineered a school-take-over five years ago, and hand-picked a Detroit School Board who would deliver millions in contract building dollars to millionaire developers. At the start of the take-over, the Detroit Public Schools had in excess of $1.7 billion dollars to be used for books, educational enhancements, structural repairs, computer purchases, etc. At the end of the five year school take-over, we were $300 million in debt, and today, we can’t find the right trail to track where the money went!
While this “drama” unfolds, we are learning that under the selected Board, school-drop out rates rose to slightly above 66%. When we had an elected Board, chosen by the people, drop out rates were about 40%, still too high, but these numbers were falling. The students are under attack in many ways, especially the children of the victims of poverty. Most salient are the two following case descriptions.
First, between 2001, and 2002, the Detroit Water Dept. disconnected service at 40,752 addresses, all where low-income people lived. Many of these residences had public school children living in them, and to have minor children in the household where there is no water available, are grounds for parental neglect charges to be filed. We have thousands of families living in daily fear of having their children taken away, and many have already BEEN removed and placed in Foster Care. A mother and child receiving public assistance in Detroit receives $371/mo from which all expenses except food must be derived. Foster Care will award $435/mo to care for one Foster Care child.
Second, the Aramark food contract was a debacle. Aramark is one of the largest food providers in the world, with corporate earnings in the millions annually. The Detroit “Selected” Board contracted with these devils, who served our kids spoiled milk, green hotdogs, mildewed fruit, rancid lunchmeat, and endless fried foods. When we were finally able to mount a recall campaign and voted the rascal out, the damage was so pervasive that we are still dealing with the aftermath of the hurricane called Aramark. The newly elected school board led by a smooth talking “Reverend” engineered a one year extension on that scandalous contract, and so once again, the state of education in Detroit is in turmoil.
The good news is that the people are waking up. We have made and are making a clear cut analysis that these corporate heathens are ungodly and know only to take, to spoil, to steal, to abuse and to enrich themselves at any cost. Education for children is the last item of interest on their lists, and they will use a black face, a white face, a woman, a man, religion and any other ploy that will deliver profits to them. We know this, others are learning this, and soon the people will rise up in a tidal wave of rage that will once and forever wipe off the face of this earth these haters of learning, these destroyers of greenspaces, these killers of beauty. Patriots of earth, mothers of all children, fathers for peace, and children of the new world order, arise, unite, and take your places as we prepare to do battle for a brand new world built on equal access to what we need. Remember…we get what we organize to take!