Why You Should Not Trust Your School

Posted on January 14, 2009, filed Under Housing & Urban Issues. Leave a Comment

By Scott R.

Inspired by literature from Anarchist Youth Federation (now defunct) and Southern California anarchists.

“Rulers have always taken care to control the education of the people. They know their power is based almost entirely on the school and they insist on retaining their monopoly. The school is an instrument for domination in the hands of the ruling class.”

—Francisco Ferrer, Anarchist proponent of the“Free School Movement” (La Escuela Moderna).

Free public education is an important aspect of society which has the potential to both empower or enslave us depending upon how we react to the system. In countries like Spain, religious education was the only way to learn until the early 20th Century and it was unlawful for poor people or women to be educated. This is the case in many fundamentalist religious societies today. In Europe and the United States, attacks on public education are a cornerstone of reactionary political agendas. In a capitalistic society where so much emphasis is placed on making rich people richer and protecting their “private property” we should wonder why people in power care about public education at all.

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