Date: Sat, 2 May 1998 10:00:09 -0400 (EDT)
From: "Shawgi A. Tell" <tell@acsu.buffalo.edu>
To: Progressive Sociologists Network <psn@csf.colorado.edu>
Subject: 1998 UNESCO World Education Report: Teachers And Teaching In A Changing World 

Greetings,

	Over the last 20 years the ruling circles of many countries have
been vigorously cutting expenditures in numerous vital public services,
thereby destroying the fabric of society and ruining the lives of tens of
millions.  In the U.S. these deep cuts are expected to continue, and in
all likelihood they will continue in Canada, Britain and elsewhere.
	Key features of this anti-social offensive are privatization,
liberalization and Rule by Decree.  The essence of this offensive
is to dismiss the notion of a modern society and to deny the claims of
humans on society.  Humans, according to this logic, must fend for
themselves like animals while the so-called "market" operates "freely."
Such is the world outlook of the ruling circles.
	This offensive has nothing to do with the well-being of society
and everything to do with the profits of the capitalist monopolies.
Taking more and more money out of the economy and handing it over to the 
rich is not the way forward. It is the way back to medievalism. 
	One of the spheres hardest hit by this offensive is education.
The 1998 UNESCO "World Education Report: Teachers and Teaching in a
Changing World" points out that the world's 57 million mostly-female
teachers do not have the basic resources and support they need to work
effectively.  It emphasizes that insufficient funding is the cause of the
deterioration in the quality of education.  Teachers in many countries,
for example, lack basics such as electricity, water and textbooks.  As is
well-known, many school facilities and buildings in the U.S. are in
pathetic condition.
	The World Education Report goes on to highlight many other
deplorable conditions in education:

- Teachers' income and status have declined, while pressure on teachers to
  "pass" students has increased.
- Many schools lack technology-friendly facilities, even in the most
  so-called "developed" countries.
- Teachers are inadequately remunerated.
- Teachers (mostly female) remain under-represented in leadership and
  management positions.
- Roughly 150 million children aged 6-11 are presently not in school.
- The practice of hiring "contract" teachers is a negative one.

The American Federation of Teachers points out that the relative standard
of living for teachers is the lowest in 40 years.  Average teacher salary
increase (2.2% in 1997) is also the smallest in 40 years.
	Teachers, educators, students and youth, must elaborate their
own vision for the 21st century.  They must take matters into their own
hands if the anti-social offensive of the world bourgeoisie is to be
defeated and replaced by a pro-social agenda.  They must work to create
the sort of modern arrangements which will put them in center-stage of
society.  Present-day arrangements, nationally and internationally,
continue to favor the wealthy few in whose hands power and privilege are
concentrated.
	Teachers' working conditions cannot be brought up to par with
modern requirements so long as teachers lack substantive say-so in
affairs.  And so long as teachers and educators lack real decision-making
power students' learning conditions will also continue to suffer.


Shawgi Tell
Graduate School of Education
University at Buffalo
tell@acsu.buffalo.edu