I have watched the ratcheting up of attacks on public education in this country and I kept wondering why. I realize that the Republicans hate unions because they don't like anyone having rights but their corporate buddies but I kept thinking to myself that there has to be another reason for this. They have hated unions (who are mostly Dems) forever so why the big push now? Well, I think it finally dawned on me WHY they are going so strong.
Demographics are changing rapidly in this country. When I started school in the mid-60's (a Catholic high school with about 150 kids), there were 149 white kids and one black kid, Wally. Wally was a great kid. I got to know him because we had a number of classes together. Let me tell you that it changed my opinion of black people because I had not really known any because there were no black families that lived near me growing up. I can't say I was prejudiced at six-years-old but I was never exposed to anyone other than other white folks. (Side note: About 10 years ago I was on a bus going downtown. There was this black gentlemen who was staring at me. When I noticed him, I realized that it was Wally!! I hadn't seen him in at least 30 years. He said "Is your name Nora?" and I said "Wally?" and we were hugging like two fools on a bus in the middle of downtown Pittsburgh !)
Flash forward to late 90's. I start working in a public high school. Let me tell you the culture shock I was in for. The first week I noticed a student I will call Tom. Tom was as gay as a young man could be. He was in the cosmetology classes and he was a cheerleader. He wore pink just about everyday and boas. Yes, boas. He was very over-the-top and I remember thinking to myself: This poor kid is going to get killed here. He is going to be ruthlessly teased and picked on. Imagine my surprise when I observed that EVERYONE loved Tom: the football players loved him, the cheerleaders loved him, the teachers loved him, EVERYONE LOVED TOM. I recall thinking that I was so proud of these young people because when I went to school, I would have feared for his safety and I am sure he would have been bullied mercilessly.
I realized that when you go to public schools, you are exposed to alot of different people and cultures. Guess what? We learned that Wally was just the same as the rest of us and so was Tom. When the haters harp about blacks, hispanics, gays, etc., most students now KNOW these "kinds" of people and KNOW that they ARE JUST LIKE THEM--want to be happy, find love, have a family, etc.
I believe that the big reason for attacking public education is because they are afraid that there will be no more bogeymen to scare the white masses because through public education, they have seen these people for themselves and not only are they NOT scary, they are JUST LIKE THEM!! Poll after poll show that people's views are changing about same sex marriages, etc. because younger people have been exposed to these folks are realize they aren't the threat these were told they were.
SEGREGATION is what they want because they are afraid that their world will collapse because young people will no longer believe what they say because they have first hand experience with these folks and it's NOT their own experience.