Who Benefits From Failing Urban Schools? An Essay

Abstract

This author speculates about who benefits from school failure. The article is grounded in the author's personal reflections over 50 years of involvement with urban schools, teachers, students, and administrators. He provides an in-depth critique of identifying the causes of school failure in the personal shortcomings of children and their families and resituates the discourse within a larger sociopolitical analysis of the many groups in society who benefit from the “natural,” largely unexamined acceptance of the myth that urban schools are doing everything possible to succeed. He addresses the construction of the myth and makes 19 specific predictions based on its widespread acceptance.

Acknowledgments

Martin Haberman is a Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee.