Injustice for all

"The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character — that is the goal of true education."

— Martin Luther King, Jr.

Thanks to teachers who carry on. Thanks to families and guardians struggling to teach their children well. Thanks to children who don't give up … and those who won't let them give up.

Class sizes for Kindergarten through third grade now regularly exceed 30 students in California. Gov. Jerry Brown and Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson blame the wrecked (and not yet repaired) economy for obliterating the state mandate of 20-student limits in the lower grades.

Teaching children to read — giving them keys to unlock the world — is difficult enough already. Critical thinking lies in critical condition.

"We may have all come on different ships, but we're in the same boat now."

— Martin Luther King, Jr.