There is no constitutional right to a high-quality public education. Should there be?
Africana Studies
In this Washington Post story, written in honor of Constitution Day, Noliwe Rooks, associate professor in Africana Studies and Feminist, Gender, Sexuality Studies, argues that there should be a federal right to a high-quality public education, even though public education is not mentioned in the Constitution, with that responsibility left to the states.
"This is a holiday that has always demanded, but has yet to receive, guidance and direction from the American people as to how best we can have — and celebrate — an inclusive expression of American citizenship and identity," Rooks writes. "What better place to start than by enshrining into the Constitution the right of all children in America, regardless of race, ethnicity or economic background to receive a quality education?"
Jason Koski/Cornell University
Monti Wilkins, left, director of Morrison Hall, and Jesse Wright, an artist and Ithaca High School teacher, talk after a section of tableaux dedicated to Toni Morrison was installed in Morrison Hall. Hanging near an image of Morrison, this painting on wood panels features Ithaca High senior London Smith, whose blue sunglasses reference Morrison’s novel, “The Bluest Eye.”
