BROOKLYN, NY, October 12 — “What’s the purpose of these schools? Is it for you to get educated OR to keep you under control?” This is what one PLP member asked his class last week in response to this schools’ administration harassing students about their participation in the October 2 March for Jobs in Washington, D.C. Many students attended this event, sponsored by the United Federation of Teachers, with family and friends, as well as staff members.
The administration has pursued campaigns of intimidation before when students and staff members have attended various events together, such as when teachers and students worked alongside each other in helping to rebuild New Orleans. This effort to create a climate of fear and hysteria has backfired on them before and will again. The Washington rally was attended by politicians as well as thousands of students from all over the East Coast.
This witchhunt is another racist attack by the administration. Who is investigating the students from mostly white specialized schools who attended the rally? Nobody. Is anyone investigating the private school students who attended? Why investigate the black and Latino students and their teachers who went? Who is investigating the New York City Comptroller, who brought a busload of students as well?
Better yet, let’s investigate the administration. Year after year they program Haitian students to take history classes with uncertified teachers from other departments. Then these students face the State Regents Test with no preparation.
Parents plan to take this to the Parent-Teacher Association. As one parent said, “These students should be in D.C. fighting for jobs — this is exactly what the young generation should be doing!” When teachers passed out fliers announcing the rally at the last parent meeting, all the parents were supportive. Because of growing unemployment (in one community near the school the unemployment rate is 20%) many parents encouraged their students to attend the protest. Some even attended it themselves.
This attack on students and teachers is part of a citywide attack on public education. While the Mayor continues to scapegoat both the union and teachers, it is increasingly crucial that we fight back. Students are the main targets of these attacks — whether it’s overcrowded classes, lack of textbooks or rising transit fares. The school administration, while failing miserably to provide a decent education, gets an A+ for harassment and intimidation. Communists have always led and must continue to lead the fight-back.
Students are plenty angry about being interrogated about what they do on their own time. They are getting a real education in fight-back as they take leadership in planning a mass campaign against the administration. This will include everything from petitions to demonstrations. The school bosses want to frighten teachers and students with their investigations.
We must take the offensive, put the administration on trial and be bold in our defense of the October 2 marchers. Capitalist education teaches all of us to be docile and passive, but with the leadership and support of communists in the PLP, we have confidence that young people will conduct “investigations” of their own and come to the right conclusion about the need for a communist society based on egalitarianism and dignity!