Education must serve the people, not the corporations

Latest

pt.2013.11.03_cartoon
The corporations and their government have been telling us for years what kind of education our children should be getting – one that will prepare them to “compete” in a “knowledge-based, globally competitive economy.” We’re told we need an education system that de-emphasizes the humanities, and instead emphasizes science, technology, engineering and math. Of course, as it happens, this is the very system the corporations need to train their 21st century workforce.
So the corporations years ago declared a “crisis” in education and set about “reforming” the system to suit their needs. The only thing they care about is training the small high-tech workforce that they need to make money, and profiting from the $1.3 trillion education “market.”
But what is education really for, from the people’s perspective, especially in a world that is being completely transformed by technology? It can’t just be about getting trained for a job – the jobs are disappearing rapidly as they are taken over by the computer and the robot. The new technology means we can no longer have an economy where most of us sell our labor power to private employers and get a paycheck. There won’t be enough jobs to support that kind of economy. We are going to have to move to a new kind of society, where the people own society’s means of producing the things we need, and we simply distribute what is produced, according to need.
Technology in the hands of the corporations means mass unemployment and mass poverty.
Technology in the hands of the people would end unemployment and poverty. It would open up a whole new world for all of us, and allow us to create an education system that does what education is supposed to do – create a cultured, thinking person who can analyze the world around them and contribute to taking humanity forward.
As novelist and journalist Earl Shorris noted years ago in arguing for an education in the humanities, “The humanities are a foundation for getting along in the world, for thinking, for learning to reflect on the world instead of just reacting to whatever force is turned against you.” The humanities infuse our minds with great ideas and equip us to think and argue. And as educator Marion Brady has put it, through education, “The young should be exploring the potentials of humanness.”
Parents are rightly concerned that their children should be able to support themselves, but being trained for a job when the jobs are disappearing doesn’t offer anyone a future. We have to take the tools and the opportunity that history has handed us and build a new society where we no longer compete against one another, but cooperate to take care of each other.
The first step in putting our education system on the right track is to guarantee everyone food, housing and health care so they can learn. At the same time, we need to nationalize education in the interests of the people. By this we mean a publicly owned education system that provides education all the way through college and beyond for free. And a system that guarantees all the funding necessary for every school to serve every student.
This will help us reach our ultimate goal – a cooperative society, where all our needs are met, and where we can truly begin exploring the potentials of humanness.

PT Logo collage
+ Articles by this author

Free to republish but please credit the People's Tribune. Visit us at www.peoplestribune.org, email peoplestribune@gmail.com, or call 773-486-3551.

The People’s Tribune brings you articles written by individuals or organizations, along with our own reporting. Bylined articles reflect the views of the authors. Unsigned articles reflect the views of the editorial board. Please credit the source when sharing: ©2024 peoplestribune.org. Please donate to help us keep bringing you voices of the movement. Click here. We’re all volunteer, no paid staff.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Featured

ICE Terror Campaign Threatens Us All

Several recent Facebook reels show how ICE is ramping up its campaign of terror against immigrants, citizens and protestors alike as the effort to create a police state continues and resistance grows. One creator speaks to the significance of Haitians now being targeted.

Medicaid Defenders in Wheelchairs Arrested Ahead of Senate Budget Vote

Over 60 people, including grandmas in wheelchairs, were arrested in the U.S. Senate Rotunda in a nonviolent protest against cuts like Medicaid and the SNAP food program in Trump’s “Big Beautiful Budget Bill.”

Zohran Mamdani Delivers Stunning Blow to ‘Billionaire-Backed Status Quo’ in NYC

New York City proved that a movement powered by hope, courage, and working class people can beat the money of billionaires.

The American People Want Peace, Not War!

The US's immoral and illegal attack on Iran threatens the whole world with war. The American people have a special responsibility to come out into the streets and rein in the US government, which has become a rogue state.

Juneteenth 2025: ‘We Have to Win this Fight,’ Hannah-Jones Tells Black Graduates

Journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones addressed Black graduates at Harvard University, telling them that "we are about to see unleashed upon us an America that we have not had to live in. And we have to win this battle."

More from the People's Tribune