Belabored Podcast #87: Class War in the Classroom Belabored Podcast #87: Class War in the Classroom Megan Erickson joins us to discuss her new book, Class War: The Privatization of Childhood, and how education can’t solve inequality, but can become less unequal.

The popular mythology in America is that education is the solvent for inequality; that if kids just get a good enough education from good enough teachers, they’ll be able to bootstrap their way to wealth. This myth, argues author, educator, and Jacobin editor Megan Erickson, ignores the realities of our class-stratified society. In her new book, Class War: The Privatization of Childhood, Erickson looks at inequality in education from Bugaboo strollers to standardized admissions tests, and she joins Belabored to discuss how her time in the classroom shaped her thinking on education, and how education can’t solve inequality, but can become less unequal.

We also hear from educators from Seattle to New York fighting inequality in their own workplaces, and hear from women organizers from the Global South and striking warehouse workers in Los Angeles. For Argh, we look at some options for the future of work—or the future of no work.

News

Michelle: Warehouse Workers of Los Angeles, Unite! (The Nation)

CUNY Union protests outside chancellor’s apartment (Politico)

Women Leading the Global Labor Rights Movement (Murphy Institute)

Michelle: $1,000 for a Dead Family Member—Is That Justice for Bangladesh’s Garment Workers? (The Nation)

Michelle: Cambodia’s Garment Workers Aren’t Backing Down (The Nation)

Michelle: How Do You Organize Workers Who Live and Sleep in Their Bosses’ Homes? (The Nation)

Sarah: Teachers are Schooling Government on How to Improve Education (DAME)

Seattle Teachers Strike for Social Justice (I AM AN EDUCATOR blog)

Conversation:

Megan Erickson at Jacobin

Class War: The Privatization of Childhood (Verso)

Argh, I Wish I’d Written That!

Michelle: Trebor Scholz, The Future Of Work: The People’s Uber (Pacific Standard)

Sarah: Madeleine Schwartz, Less Work, More Time (Dissent)