Public Education and the Long Tax Revolt

My mother has worked as a teacher longer than I've been a student. Over twenty years at five elementary schools in two public school districts in the San Francisco Bay Area, she's watched her students grow up and learn about the world around them. Even though my mom now teaches in a well-off district, her job is a demanding one. Some challenges are novel; the emphasis on test-taking and the rapid introduction of classroom technology, for example, have shortened students' attention spans. She has also witnessed the fundamental and perennial inequalities in the U.S. education system. The students who are better at reading are those whose parents have the time to reinforce those skills at home.