In Motion Magazine Introduction by Dr. Pedro Noguera Pedro Noguera. Photo by Nic Paget-Clarke.
Educational issues are almost always political issues.
This can be seen from the fact that the courts have played a greater role in determining how major educational policy issues will be framed than educators or policy makers. This is because educatioinal issues are often also civil rights issues, and because education is the only social institution in American society that is accessible to all. However, the politicization of educational issues often means that research and the concerns and perspectives of students and teachers take a back seat to whatever political current may be most trendy at the moment. This column is intended to provide a space for perspectives on educational issues that too often don't make it into the mainstream of popular discourse. The views and opinions represented here are intended to question the dominant positions on the issues and to provoke critical discussion.