Far too often, human rights are perceived to be at risk only in the midst of exceptional strife. Human rights are not a concern exclusive to oppressive regimes, wars, natural disasters, or those unfamiliar parts of the world commonly perceived as volatile. Human rights, despite the pitifully ineffectual treatment they have historically fallen victim to, are not abstract, tantalizing notions to entertain dinner table discussions or vague concepts to critique in term papers. Human rights are definite, non-derogable liberties that ripple in the form of extreme consequences through real people’s lives. Human rights are ideals meant to be cultivated and sanctified not because they sound pleasant or flatter those who defined them, but because they are vital to achieving, affirming, and enabling every individual to attain and express the essential quality of all human beings – humanity. Human rights are an enduring issue everywhere, even in the United States, even now. 

In Detroit, Michigan, the human right to education is at risk. In the wake of Detroit’s rapid economic decline in the middle of the 20th century, the city endured myriad crises. While poverty and violent crime have slightly declined in recent years, education remains a cause for serious concern. Stagnant educational opportunities, unlike other issues commonly understood to fall within a city’s orbit, pose a unique threat to children. While individuals can and often do achieve socioeconomic advancement within a generation, there is rarely any opportunity to receive a remedial education, and it is generally impossible to repair cognitive deficits resulting from education delayed beyond a child’s formative years. 

Presently, 52,528 students served by Detroit public schools risk these challenges. Detroit, of course, is home to no fewer exceptional or capable students than any other part of the nation. Despite this fact, merely 2% of students enroll in Advanced Placement courses. As of 2024, 16% of students tested proficient in English, 10.5% in math, 12% in science, and 6.6% in social studies. 66% of students are chronically absent, meaning they do not attend school more than 10% of the time. The graduation rate is 73.5%. The budget for Detroit public schools in FY 2024 was $904,784,075. 

Detroit is not an aberration. While the generally poor performance of Detroit schools has garnered public attention and prompted reform and increased investment in the city, it has failed to correspond with a national reckoning of underperforming schools. School districts in Baltimore, Chicago, and Cleveland, to name only a few, similarly struggle with low test scores and high rates of absenteeism. Schools in rural America, though rarely discussed as sites of academic underperformance, are chronically underfunded and lack advanced coursework, in addition to being least susceptible to attention and improvements. 

The prolific yet highly specialized problems within the public education system render most proposed solutions limited or ineffective. In response to such a difficult and important issue, non-governmental organizations ought to supplement public education programs with materials that promote learning outside of school. While this is by no means the final solution, it is one of many advances that could bolster development as well as draw attention and investment to declining educational performance.