This is a terrific interview with Helen Gym, a public school activist who just won a seat on the Philadelphia City Council.
The state took control Philadelphia public schools in 2001, and the Governor appoints a majority of the members of the School Reform Commission. A majority of voters endorsed a non-binding resolution to restore democratic control to the district. In addition, a pro-public schools candidate was elected Mayor, defeating a heavily funded corporate reformster candidate.
Helen Gym has been a tireless and fearless advocate for public schools. In this interview, she offers sound advice about fighting for your community’s schools.
She said:
“Philadelphia is a place where corporate education reform has done so much damage. No one is a bigger symbol of that damage than the hedge fund billionaires behind the Susquehanna Group. They poured nearly $7 million into a municipal election, dwarfing any amount of money coming from elsewhere. As I said in a press conference, these were three billionaires looking to destroy public education in a city they would never live in and hurting children they would never know. That about sums it up, and it’s why the public resoundingly rejected them and their narrow abusive agenda that had done so much harm not just to children but to entire neighborhoods and communities…..
“For years, we’ve been subjected to relentless rhetoric that people don’t want to invest in public institutions anymore, that their schools have failed and their teachers have failed, and that school choice was the only option people had – and they ought to be grateful to those who provided it. But as I campaigned around the city, I was amazed at how many communities had really soured on that idea. Especially in the neighborhoods that suffered from the most disinvestment, people really understand just how important their public institutions and their public spaces are. I mean, you can’t be electing officials who want to shut down our schools, take away services from communities and cut taxes on the wealthy and call that working in the public interest. We had gone so far to that extreme that none of this corporate education reform message was resonating any more. It felt hollow, empty and defeatist. I also think that a lot of people now really understand that the problem isn’t so much that our public institutions have failed, but that we’re competing with other interests that are sucking away our ability to invest in them….
“Gym: The biggest lesson is that this was work that was built up over years. There’s no short cut. It wasn’t like some amazing superstar suddenly burst onto the scene. We’re all just pretty ordinary people who’ve learned to work together, and figured out how to build a bigger, broader movement over time. I think that’s the lesson that other communities can learn from. That when your work has integrity over time, and you work collaboratively, the broader community can see it come to fruition. I think the other lesson here is about the difference between political power and a grassroots movement. Political power was not the first thing we sought. Instead, we were really trying to build a stronger base to highlight the voices of different communities across the city. That’s how you change things, when a collective movement builds and earns political power rather than just grasps for it…..
“This election sent a loud and clear message: the place to start is investment in public institutions, and real partnerships with community organizations and parents and educators. Reforming our institutions takes collaboration and solutions rooted in vision and possibility, not narratives of failure. It’s a lesson that hope always wins the day.”
This is inspiring to me. Thank you for post.
Let’s hope that vigilant citizens like Helen Gym will return hope to the Philadelphia public schools. If they can reinvent themselves, perhaps they will guide other war weary cities to find their way back to meaningful public education. I am a graduate of the Philadelphia public school system, and my urban education has served me well. (Phila. HS for Girls ’66)
Helen Gym speaks from her heart and mind with a determination of restoring and innovating whatever will be the best for Public Education Policy and community involvement in Philadelphia.
Each citizen needs to be cultivated to have Helen Gym’s mindset. This will ultimately lead to eliminate the corruption from business corporations who abuse their “”CORRUPTED/BULLIED WEAK WORKERS”” money to smear HUMAN DIGNITY and THE JOY OF LEARNING AND TEACHING IN EDUCATION SYSTEM.
Hopefully, with the technological/informational era, people will unite and determine to fight back/ expose all CORRUPTIONS in their communities so that they can preserve their civility RIGHTS and their peaceful lives without FEAR of losing their careers.
It is an excellent reminder from Helen to all of us who have a self-doubt of our own GOOD-WILL,
[start quote]
No one wants things to stay the same.
But if people want to tear down public institutions and use their wealth, influence and backdoor politicking to do that, the public is going to reject them.
This election sent a loud and clear message:
the place to start is investment in public institutions, and real partnerships with community organizations and parents and educators.
Reforming our institutions takes COLLABORATION and SOLUTIONS rooted in VISION and POSSIBILITY, not narratives of failure.
It’s a lesson that HOPE always wins the day.
[end quote]
Congratulations on your success that gives hope to many other GOOD heart and mind candidates in other States. Thank you Helen for your courage in running for Councillor position in Philadelphia. God bless. Back2basic
What is the difference between the hedge fund billionaires behind the Susquehanna Group and the Wolf of Wall Street, Jordan Belfort, played by Leonardo DiCaprio in the film?
The answer: NOTHING! The only difference is that they haven’t gone to prison yet where they’ll get to play tennis like Belfort did.