Both my parents have worked in schools that saw a lot violence, poverty and failure. Failure that’s constituted not just by test scores and grades, but rather by the ultimate failure of the school to provide for all its students’ knowledgeable needs to extent that their education became nothing but a pastime until they reach adulthood where they will go into the family business of drugs, prostitution and incarceration if they hadn’t already. My parents always talked about their experiences with such passion, passion filled sorrow from they saw, but joy too from little success that did emerge from this school. A lot of them having to be because of them, but they would never know that until years later when they would bump into their students who exclaim with such happiness, “is that you?” I’ve seen a lot of these moments with them, and even then, they still won’t credit themselves for their influence that was built on so much love and compassion, because they just saw it as the humane way to treat students who are typically over-looked because they’re in a “failing” school.

So why would I choose to become and educator too when I’ve heard my entire life from my parents, family friends and my own teachers how heartbreaking, and almost pointless, my efforts could be at “failing” school? It’s simple really, because I think education is the key to ending profound cycles in our nation, such as poverty and ignorance, and thus it is my job, as somebody who has heard and seen as well as been given a strong education, to do my best to give these students a chance they were never given at birth. I think that if I can relate to just one student in “failing” school, then that would be the most important thing I will do in my entire life.

Which is exactly why I cannot stand behind this abhorred idea of “Georgia Authorization of the State Government to Intervene in Failing Local Schools, Amendment 1 (2016)” which details, “proposing an amendment to the Constitution of Georgia so as to allow the General Assembly to authorize the establishment of an Opportunity School District to provide for state intervention for failing schools; to provide for related matters; to provide for the submission of this amendment for ratification or rejection; and for other purposes”. To better clarify, with a direct quote, this amendment will allow for, “…the General Assembly [to] provide by general law for the creation of an Opportunity School District and authorize the state to assume the supervision, management, and operation of public elementary and secondary schools which have been determined to be failing through any governance model allowed by law. Such authorization shall include the power to receive, control, and expend state, federal, and local funds appropriated for schools under the current or prior supervision, management, or operation of the Opportunity School District, all in the manner provided by and in accordance with general law”. The goal of this amendment to the Georgia Constitution is to permit the Opportunity School District superintendent with the ability to “waive State Board of Education rules, regulations, policies, procedures and provisions for OSD schools, but not federal, state or local government rules or court orders. The OSD would be able to select, approve or remove the OSD schools' principals, transfer teachers, control the schools' budgets and modify education content”.

So, what does all this mean? Well basically, if a school qualifies in some means to be failing it can be taken and privatized by a non-profit or for profit group who does not have to withhold public education standards. It’s both big and little standards that are in jeopardy, as under this amendment the public schools would be turned into charter schools ran directly by these private businesses. Mostly, the differences would be seen in things such as curriculum and hiring. Curriculum meaning, they would create their own testing standards, lessons and form of presenting education. Now I’m not going to get into my views on different types of education that exist outside of typical public schooling, but I will continue to focus on why this amendment is so detrimental to public education.

First, the way this amendment has been painted is very vague and for a reason. It doesn’t necessarily detail exactly what qualifies as a failing school, only stating to be determined. Meaning if we aren’t proactive and vote this against this, they can determine what constitutes failing after legalization, and thus our public schools are caught in the ultimate threat of closure due to any number of reasons. Secondly, my concern is for the “for profit” potential owner of this school. How is profit made through education? Simple, you make the students pay. Which is quite ridiculous when you consider the fact that most of the failing schools, as determined by current law, are clumped in impoverished areas. So what do they intend to do when they take an entire school district and turn it over into a for-profit business when most the children attending it can barely afford lunch? Where will these children go when they literally cannot pay for their education; for something that the United States constitution grants them but our State Constitution legally could then deny them.

This attributes to my third major issue with this amendment: What about public education? A charter school can claim to be public, but when it also has the possibility to charge tuition, enforce religious beliefs and deny certain students who can’t reach these standards, is it really for the public? And then where will they go, both physically and mentally? This is no public education, this the furtheering of exploitation of middle to low income families by the top one percent once again. Except this time, it takes away the one thing that we have to combat their reign: our ability to learn and grow. Although on paper, these schools may be failing, we have to remember the successes that do come from. Successes like those that my parents have created; successes that can be extinguished before the thought of them can even be conceived because of greedy loopholes that have no concern for education, but rather business. There are still many things that need to be changed about public education, but this isn’t the solution. A vote “No” on this amendment is a “Yes” for students who deserve to not be seen as failures needing to be reformed, but rather chances that can become successes once their constant exploitation is stopped.