The Ties that Bind: A Response to Jonathan Jansen

In his critique of academic writing about and public consumption of government policy and law, Jonathan Jansen uses his argument of the symbolic functions of education law and education policy as a basis for explaining the lack of progress in achieving equity and justice under "Brown v. Board of Education" (1954) in the United States and the lack of progress in achieving social goals after 12 years of freedom in South Africa. This article presents the author's response to Jansen's article. The purpose of this author is two-fold: to build on Jansen's work so as to develop further an examination of both the U.S. and South African black education experiences with respect to: (1) the curriculum taught in schools; and (2) the experiences of students and educators in desegregated schools. This chapter argues that the efficacy of education policies and laws aimed at redressing racial discrimination and attainment of equity and social justice should be judged not only on the merits of the law or policy but on what happens within the desegregated schools in a given school system. (Contains 4 notes.)