There was a time when the New York City school system was a cause for civic pride, a selling point in drawing businesses to the city, and a wellspring for generations of New Yorkers who made great contributions to our society. Times have changed. Today, the system suffers from perennial underfunding and official neglect.
Politicians use it as a whipping boy and editorial writers hold it up as an object of scorn.
Although no one would admit it, racism is the primary reason for the school system s decline and its failing to properly educate the next generation of New Yorkers. Earlier in the century, the schools competently educated millions of mostly white immigrants. The system changed from predominately white to predominately African American and Hispanic over several decades. Many white families moved to the suburbs. Those who stayed in the city often sent their children to private schools.