Class: A Personal Story

In Class: A Personal Story by Michael D. Yates in the July-August Monthly Review the author describes the moment of intellectual awakening as taking place when he found radical periodicals in the library. His essay is important reading for all librarians who serve working people. Of special note is the following quote:

Workers receive a thoroughly uninspiring and mentally and physically destructive education. Struggles to expand and improve public education are, therefore, also radical struggles. The training of teachers is scandalously inadequate, and the freedom of teachers to teach critical thinking is uniformly circumscribed. Where are the teachers’ unions? Indeed, where is the labor movement? If only unions themselves took the time to educate their own members. If only the labor movement financed a network of labor radio stations, television programs, and newspapers. Working people are so misinformed and uninformed that it is no wonder governments everywhere can feed us daily doses of the most ridiculous propaganda.

Read Yates' entire essay online and then consider subscription.