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The Hidden Crisis: How the US Fails to Protect Its Children
From child labor to trafficking—and even foster care, sports, and detention—institutions meant to protect children often cause the greatest harm. Road sign in Provincetown, Massachusetts -- Bigguy637, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons By Colin Greer and Reynard Loki [Editor’s Note: This article is the first installment of “Does Your Community Care About Children?”, a four-part series by Colin Greer and Reynard Loki. The series examines overlapping crises facing vulnerable youth in A

The Left Chapter
Dec 22, 20258 min read


Why Women’s Leadership Strengthens Disaster Resilience and Environmental Stewardship
Often overlooked in traditional emergency management, women play a critical role in preparedness, risk reduction, and building resilient communities. Representational image -- Kartiki Gonsalves, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons By Reynard Loki On February 26, 1852, the HMS Birkenhead struck a cluster of rocks off the coast of South Africa. With only a few lifeboats for the 638 people aboard, Captain Robert Salmond ordered the women and children to board first while the men

The Left Chapter
Dec 15, 20259 min read


Soviet school stamps, 1930-1961
From the Soviet Press, 1962: WHEN THE SCHOOL YEAR BEGINS in September, it seems as though the whole Soviet population were heading for...

The Left Chapter
Oct 11, 20252 min read


Twenty Years After Katrina, the All-Charter Schools System of New Orleans Is Failing Many Families
Despite claims by reform advocates of achieving success, Black children and parents continue to endure a punitive, impersonal, and...

The Left Chapter
Oct 6, 202514 min read


How Student Loans Became America’s Financial Catastrophe
From hopeful beginnings to a broken system, student loans reveal how policy choices turned higher learning into a lifelong financial...

The Left Chapter
Sep 14, 202514 min read


Why Food and Nutrition Deserves Its Own Public School Curriculum in the US
A national human ecology curriculum that begins with food education could help address our most pressing crises—from climate change to...

The Left Chapter
Sep 3, 20258 min read


Can We Protect Our Children From the US Government?
As part of back-to-school preparations, teachers are patrolling their schools against ICE arrests of students and their families. ICE...

The Left Chapter
Aug 26, 20255 min read


Trump and Republicans Want US Taxpayers to Fund Their Pet Project: Private Schools
A proposal for a nationwide federally supported school voucher program is just another of President Trump’s schemes to give advantages to...

The Left Chapter
Jun 6, 20257 min read


How US Charter Schools Promote ‘Development Off the Backs of Children’
When charter schools are used as “a tool for economic development,” kids and communities suffer. CEIBA College Preparatory Academy --...

The Left Chapter
May 29, 202511 min read


As History Erasure Intensifies, Independent Internet Archives Are Helping Fortify the ‘Digital Preservation Infrastructure’
These online resources hold crucial information on history, social issues, and activism. Public domain image By Damon Orion Despite...

The Left Chapter
Apr 25, 20256 min read


How US News Reporters Are Being Deceived by Fake Groups of ‘Moms’ and ‘Parents’ Attacking Public Schools
These groups are the creation of deep-pocketed conservative networks, not “grassroots” advocates. By Maurice Cunningham “If your mother...
Michael Laxer
Mar 23, 202511 min read


Why Education Reformers Will Find a Home in the Trump Administration
Trump’s inclination to mix policymaking with business deals and profiteering is an ideal situation for education reformers like his...
Michael Laxer
Feb 16, 202512 min read


Pedagogy 2025 begins in Havana
All images via Vladimir Molina By Katherin Hormigó Rubio, translated from the Spanish The XIX del Congreso Internacional Pedagogía 2025...
Michael Laxer
Feb 12, 20252 min read


Highlander Research and Education Center Brings Old-School Expertise to Present-Day Issues
Formed in the early 1930s, this Tennessee institution is still fighting for social and racial justice. Image via Highlander By Damon...
Michael Laxer
Oct 6, 20247 min read


We Need Public Education to Help Us Address the Challenges We Face, But It’s Under Threat
By the Privatisation in Education and Human Rights Consortium Over the past few decades, humanity has embarked on an unprecedented...
Michael Laxer
Sep 20, 20245 min read


POOR Magazine Started With a Mother and Daughter Experiencing Homelessness and Grew Into a Movement
A mother and daughter in and out of homelessness founded a grassroots magazine in 1996, by and for people experiencing poverty. It grew...
Michael Laxer
Oct 28, 202320 min read


Billionaires Envision a New Utopian City -- to Replace What They Ruined
Silicon Valley’s wealthy elites have been secretly buying up land in one of California’s poorest counties to build a new city from the...
Michael Laxer
Sep 5, 20235 min read
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