The politics of education unfolds the history of political discrimination

The politics of education unfolds the history of political discrimination

By Derek Joy

       And so it is. . .

Black History Month fades into the annals of history of the year 2014.

Now, students throughout America resort to regular academic routines of a school year. In Florida, that includes a focus on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT).

Ah, yes!  The vaunted FCAT.  That’s definitely a sore subject in Black History.

Black Americans just happened to have felt discriminated against through the construction and subject matter of the FCAT. Had a much higher failure rate from the inception of this test.

Of course, none of the subjects highlighted and embraced during Black History Month appears on the FCAT. Real curious fact.

Equally curious is the fact that the very people who advocated such a test, crafted it and legislated it into law, have passed such an exam to win elected office or get hired in their current positions of employment.

Funny how we constantly find the quality of life adversely affected by selfishly idiotic decisions made by elected officials and their select bureaucrats. Decisions that are clearly motivated by nothing more than personal and political gain.

Profit.  Pure and simple. The driving force behind democracy’s capitalistic foundations.

The almighty dollar. Obtained by hook and crook, by any means necessary, including blatant deception for the purpose of discrimination. Such discrimination is not confined to race or ethnicity. It definitely incorporates economic discrimination.

For a graphic illustration of this point, one need only consider simple realities.

First, there is a matter of political representation. Black Americans were once prohibited from holding elected office.  The battle for equality changed that.

For instance, there are 26 Black Americans – eight Senators and 18 Representatives – in the Florida State Legislature.  There are 25 Democrats and one Republican among them.

So, where are the benefits of representation by people of color?  Black American communities still languish in the depths of despair for lack of public services, a definite lack of funding for projects that benefit these communities.

Secondly, there is this haunting question raised by the value of education in general, the FCAT in particular.

Why force student to pass the FCAT in order to progress and graduate, and tout college educations just to enter the work place and play dumb?

Surely, an ignorant person knows you don’t need to pass the FCAT or have a college degree simply to respond, I don’t know.

Such responses from highly educated people merely confirm the deception in the politics of education.

Consequently, as time rolls on and another Black History Month dawns on the horizon, think about raising these questions for our esteemed elected officials.