If you know me, then you know that one of my favorite movies is My Big Fat Greek Wedding. The first one. The sequel is funny, too, but I can watch the original over and over and I laugh every time. There's a scene in that movie, in the beginning, where the main character's father, Mr. Portokalos, is driving the children to school. "Give me a word. ANY word," he says. "And I will show you how the root of that word is Greek!"
I love this scene for so many reasons! First of all, Mr. Portokalos is NOT going to let his children go to school without first equipping them to stand against the deculturalization that he knew would happen (I think that's also why he insisted that they go to Greek school and why he was so out with his Greek heritage). I could probably write a whole new blog post just about this idea as well, but I may save that for another time...
Anyway - I also love this scene because it pretty much sums up how I feel about education and knowledge. "Give me a social ill, any ill, and I will show you how the root of that ill is education (or the lack thereof)!" Now let me be clear, I do not subscribe to the idea that education is the great equalizer. It's not. There are too many other forces at play here in the US and abroad that practically eliminate that possibility. There's also the issue of the difference between schooling and education. Schooling, unfortunately, is what we mostly see in the US. It is an indoctrination and socialization to equip the average American to perpetuate the status quo. The very institution of schooling and what we see today stems from the need to create factory workers. That's why we have bells, short lunches, and we pass our children from grade to grade and teacher to teacher like we are in a car factory.
But, I digress...
Education (or the lack of) is the root of most, if not all, of our social ills.
Racism? Ignorance stemming from a lack of knowledge of the oppressed race. It is an unfortunate cycle of ignorance and hatred begetting the same. In fact, studies show that a teacher's racial attitude (stated or implied) can either positively or negatively affect a child's academic progress, self perception and his/her perception of others.
Equitable Housing? Well, really that stems from racism which stems from a lack of knowledge. However, I would also argue that a lack of knowledge can adversely affect a person's involvement in political affairs such as public conversations concerning zoning. Zoning can impact where single- and multi-family homes are located as well as undesirable community components such as plants, cell towers, etc. Imagine how we could disrupt the game if we knew the rules and/or how to play!
Economic inequities? Stems from a lack of education to develop appropriate critical thinking skills (and racism, of course!) and most importantly, a lack of generational financial knowledge that could impact the accumulation of wealth.
BTW, I once met an official who was unveiling his strategic economic and housing plan and when I asked him to explain what he planned to do to counteract gentrification, his response was, "what is that?"
Let that sink in for a moment.
I could go on, but I want to give this little disclaimer. I do not believe that there is a magic bullet to solve all of the social ills we experience in the US. There are many possibilities that can work together in concert. But, I am positing that more people could see their ideas through to fruition if we had an education system that supported free and critical thinking AND if we eliminated systemic racism. So, I guess you can say that lack of knowledge is the root. Because if we know better, then we do better. And, that's CATALYTIC KNOWLEDGE.
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