Sound Off is a series of personal essays about education written by educators, parents, students, and community members.
“I must confess that dream that I had that day has,
at many points, turned into a nightmare.”
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
May 8, 1967
On August 28, 1963, during The March of Washington, Dr. King gave his “I Have a Dream” speech. This famous speech is known around the world and is included in English classrooms across the nation.
However, almost four years later, King stated his dream had “turned into a nightmare.”
In that NBC News interview, he asserted that integration was okay as long as it didn’t cost anyone. However, fixing huge societal issues such as poverty would cost the nation millions. That’s when the pushback came.
Harry Belafonte, King’s friend, shared in an interview that a few days before King was assassinated, he said, “I’m afraid that we are integrating into a burning house.”
The house, our nation, is on fire. Does anyone care enough to gear up and put out the flames?
At Indy Kids Winning, our focus is education. King spoke many times about education. In his 1947 Morehouse College article, “The Purpose of Education,” King said:
It seems to me that education has a two-fold function to perform in the life of man and in society: the one is utility and the other is culture Education must enable a man to become more efficient, to achieve with increasing facility the legitimate goals of his life.
Education must also train one for quick, resolute and effective thinking. To think incisively and to think for one’s self is very difficult. We are prone to let our mental life become invaded by legions of half truths, prejudices, and propaganda. At this point, I often wonder whether or not education is fulfilling its purpose.
Is education fulfulling its purpose? Is our education system producing efficient people who can reach their life goals? Many citizens would say no. The data supports this view.
Scientific American’s analysis of NAEP data showed that “two thirds of U.S. children are unable to read with proficiency.” Additionally, math proficiency is a struggle as well. AP reported that “At many universities, engineering and biology majors are struggling to grasp fractions and exponents. More students are being placed into pre-college math, starting a semester or more behind for their majors.”
Instead of fighting for initiatives to address critical issues like math and literacy proficiency, some people have fought to remove books, exclude history, and eliminate social-emotional learning, adding further fuel to the burning schoolhouse.
The schoolhouse is on fire. Children are suffocating from smoke, falling out of their desks, and the flames are closing in. The fight for a better education for all students is going to cost us socially, financially, mentally, and physically. School does not have to be a system that churns out winners and losers. To put out the flames, we must commit to tackling issues like literacy and math proficiency.
Everyone who completes an American education should be able to live a fulfilling life, achieving their American dream.
As long as we are stuck on side quests and are off the main road, the school system, for some, will continue to be a nightmare.
Indy Kids Winning Inc exists to empower people to make informed education decisions through local education coverage and education resources. Please consider donating to support our work. Your contribution allows us to continue the fight for excellent education for all children.
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