I always find this quote from Paulo Freire to challenge my own thinking about my failure to get involved in current events. This is especially true in education since it is a place I have worked, a space I continue to work in, and yet, some would say to me, “Be quiet. This is too political. This is controversial. You may not speak.”

I’m reminded of this quote by author, Patrick Finn. Patrick Finn writes the following in his book “Literacy with an Attitude:”

“First, there is empowering education, which leads to powerful literacy, the kind of literacy that leads to positions of power and authority.

Second, there is domesticating education, which leads to functional literacy, literacy that makes a person productive and dependable but not troublesome.

Over time, political, social and economic forces have brought us to a place where the working class (and to a surprising degree, the middle class) gets domesticating education and functional literacy, and the rich get empower education and powerful literacy.

We don’t worry about a literate working class because the kind of literacy they get doesn’t make them dangerous.”

These days, those who have power and money send their kids away from public schools. They enroll them in private/charter schools. The rest, those kids go to public schools. And, public schools, teachers there, are demonized, under-funded. Expensive programs are promoted and pushed to public schools so that those who sell those programs and technologies can make money, siphoning yet even more funding away from public education coffers.

A CNN Report captures the issue with funding for federal grants, which impact educators in higher education:

The White House budget office has ordered a pause on all federal grants and loans, according to an internal memorandum sent Monday, potentially impacting trillions in government spending and halting public programs that affect millions of Americans.

This is already having repercussions in many areas, but higher education is one.

ICE raids on K-12 schools is another area.

Once again, the powerful have taken sides against the poor, the powerless. For those of us in the middle, the educators and the voting public, it is imperative we not wash our hands of the conflict. That we not have clean hands because we chose to walk away and do nothing.