“I refuse to use the phrase ‘failed schools,’” said Barbara Miner. “Milwaukee public schools are about abandonment and privatization, not about failed schools. We have to connect the dots city by city. We are about caring for our children, our community, and our democracy.”

Source: NEA Today

In the era of neoliberalism, media outlets are awash with tales of woe and “failing schools.” When we persistently label schools “failing,” who wins and who loses? What if we were to follow the example of Barbara Miner, former managing editor of Rethinking Schools, and refer rather to “abandoned schools”? Does the rhetoric change?