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Drinking knowledge like water
They dreamed of books and words, numbers and places-
history and scholarship wafted through their brains-
moments of learning like
music and chocolate
To an unquenchable palate...
Excerpt from the poem, "A Ph.D
in Poverty" by Tiny
 To
be serious about the educational success of low-income students
of color means to have a vision for changing what education
is all about.
Justice Matters calls this vision “REAL Education for
Minds & Souls,” or “REAL Education”
for short.
REAL education is poetry and scholarship, hopes and dreams,
numbers and letters, technology and literature, arts and crafts,
fútbol and basketball, running and jumping, thinking
and learning. REAL Education is children, families, elders
and communities…
Drinking knowledge like water…
REAL Education is a vision for education that goes beyond
the limitations of our current public education system which
doesn’t value our multi-cultural, multi-generational
and multi-lingual communities.
REAL Education is based on values of racial and economic
justice, and therefore, devotes explicit attention to making
sure that schools prepare students of color, immigrant students,
and low-income students for all aspects of their future.
Building on Who Students Are
REAL Education views students’ culture, language, communities,
and families as rich sources of experience and knowledge that
support learning, not as problems that get in the way of learning.
Students should be able to go through their educational career
successfully without having to change who they are.
Combining Challenge and Support
REAL Education is rigorous—students are challenged to
think critically about the conditions that have oppressed
them and their communities for centuries while also learning
important academic skills that prepare them for college and/or
enable them to acquire fulfilling employment that pays them
a living wage. To provide this kind of education, schools
must have a genuine belief in what their students can achieve.
They must also have the commitment and ability to provide
each student what he or she needs to learn what is being taught
and to make it his or her own.
Forging Caring Communities
REAL Education takes place in a caring environment based on
strong, respectful relationships. Families and students feel
they truly belong to the school community, and they have a
powerful voice in shaping what happens.
REAL Education and Hot Issues in Education
We use our vision for schools to develop clear and consistent
positions on major education issues. One issue that is getting
a lot of attention right now is “high-stakes testing,”
which means testing students and tying the test results to
major—“high-stakes”—punitive consequences
for schools and students.
To find out about the REAL Education perspective on “high-stakes
testing,” click here
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