Education

Education is a public good and a social right, a cornerstone of any democracy, and it has been won through the struggle of working people.

The Assault on Education

The US education system has been under assault for decades. Public-sector teachers are pitted against a neoliberal agenda of austerity and privatization, which aims to cripple public education in favor of a for-profit system.

The State of Public Education

• Building, not Rebuilding, Public Education, Lois Weiner, Jacobin
• The Special Ed Students Deserve, Kate Osgood, Jacobin
• Lean Production, Will Johnson, Class Action pamphlet

Privatization

• Mapping the Movement to Dismantle Public Education, Molly Gott and Derek Seidman, Jacobin
• Billionaire-Funded Charter School Juggernaut Hits Roadblock in Los Angeles, Don Hazen, UTLA

The Fight Back

• Teachers Are Leading the Revolt Against Austerity, Jane McAlevey, The Nation
• This Is a Struggle to Save Public Education, Eric Blanc and Arlene Inouye (interview), Jacobin
• Class Action: An Activist Teachers Handbook, Multiple authors, Jacobin

Just for Fun

• Why Socialists Should Become Teachers, Democratic Socialists of America

Teachers' Strikes

The wave of teachers' strikes that began in 2018 changed the conversation about public education in the US. Tens of thousands of teachers took to the streets and filled state capitals, garnering public support and racking up victories in some of the nation's most hostile political terrain. The teachers' demands went beyond better salaries and benefits for themselves. They went on strike for their students' needs — to improve classroom quality, increase classroom resources, and demand greater investment in public education as a whole.

• There's No Trick, Jamie McCallum, Jacobin
• Saving West Virginia, Cathy Kunkel, Jacobin
• The Lesson of West Virginia, Eric Blanc, Jacobin
• Do-It-Yourself Class Struggle, Kevin Prosen, Jacobin
• It's Oklahoma's Turn to Strike, Eric Blanc, Jacobin