Education Archives - Ms. Magazine

What Women Can Expect from a Biden Presidency: On Work and Family

The work and family prong of Biden’s agenda for women includes high-quality, affordable child care for all families; free universal kindergarten for 3- and 4-year-olds; support for increased access to after-school, weekend and summer programs; programs to care for older Americans and people with disabilities; paid family and medical leave; and flexible, fair work schedules.

(This piece is the third of a multi-part series covering President-Elect Biden’s platform for women. New installations of the series will be released on Wednesdays.)

Race-Conscious Policies—Including Affirmative Action—Are Necessary For Addressing Racial Inequity

Tiffani Burgess

Affirmative action recently survived yet another legal attack when the First Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in Harvard’s favor in a case challenging affirmative action.

This latest case against Harvard demonstrates that color-blindness cannot uproot this country’s legacy of racism. We must face race head-on to meaningfully address the racial inequality that persists in our society.

Charting a Future of Child Care Post COVID-19 and Beyond

Alejandra Y. Castillo

The 2020 she-cession laid bare for everyone just how broken the childcare system is. Fixing the broken child care system is about getting our country back on track. But more specifically, it’s about providing women the critical support we need to participate in the labor force, as well as care for our own social-emotional health.

Two Teen Girls’ Mission to Change Their School’s Confederate Name to Honor John Lewis

Helen Ehrlich

After a summer where the U.S. confronted systemic racism, a flood of promises regarding justice came from state governments. This set the stage for Kadija Ismail and Kimberly Boateng, two young Black teens, to finally have their school renamed in honor of activist and Representative John R. Lewis, in a state with the second most Confederate-named schools in the U.S.

College-Aged Voters Have the Power to Shift the Election

Sophie Dorf-Kamienny

With the clock ticking down towards Nov. 3, a newly energized Gen Z is expected to turnout in record high numbers. Although many college students were forced to rethink their voting plans in light of campus closures and travel restrictions, they are already making use of early voting options.

Colleges Must Accommodate Students Who Are Breastfeeding—Even in Zoom Classes

Autumn Green

A Fresno City College student, Marcella Mares, filed a complaint against an instructor who told her that it was inappropriate to breastfeed her 10-month-old during Zoom classes—even with her camera turned off. This is a prime example of micro-aggressions that student parents experience in college classrooms every day. It is also a violation of the law.

Pandemic Exacerbates Already High Levels of Stress Among Women Faculty

Christina Young

The need to rapidly shift courses to remote instruction and meet research and service obligations while also ‘working’ from home has further intensified the already demanding conditions of academic work. Women have been hit hardest. The pandemic has exacerbated existing gender and other inequities among faculty.

The Need for ‘Learning Pods’ Creates a Generation of Unexpected Teachers

Lauren Janes

While many industries have halted hiring in the face of the global pandemic, one is actively seeking workers: elementary school education.

“Learning pods” are popping up across the country: Students from multiple families gather in one home to receive otherwise inaccessible in-person instruction.

The Key To Keeping Students Safe? Counselors, Not Cops

Beatriz Beckford

Fueled by zero tolerance policies, school districts across the country frequently push kids out of school and toward the juvenile and criminal justice systems. The presence of police officers in schools makes a bad situation worse, too often punishing students who are Black, Latinx, LGBTQ and/or have disabilities.

Our children need more nurses and counselors, more social workers and school psychologists—not more police.

Teachers Face Backlash Over Black Lives Matter Posters

Oliver C. Haug

As the new school year begins in the midst of the pandemic, students and teachers are adjusting to a multitude of changes, with districts nationwide shifting to distance learning systems. But in addition to coping with remote instruction, many teachers are trying to address the summer of protests for racial justice in their classrooms. And some of them are being persecuted for it.

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