Time to get off our knees and do more than just march
by Scott Nine in The Landscape
Jonathan Kozol was spot on. It is time for educators, parents, and young people to reclaim the “public” in public education and get off our knees. I've been enjoying reading his and teachers diaries about why they'll march toSave Our Schools on July 30th in DC. I'll be there too.
But I'm not going to DC for the march. I'm going for the messy work of organizing what comes after the march that will take place at the SOS Congress on July 31st at American University from 11am to 3pm EST.
We are right to make demands, to craft policy proposals, and to seek media attention. We need coherent narratives about the school to prison pipeline, the learning and teaching environments that grow curiosity, a connection to place, and meaningfully engage students in learning that matters.
Jonathan Kozol was spot on. It is time for educators, parents, and young people to reclaim the “public” in public education and get off our knees. I've been enjoying reading his and teachers diaries about why they'll march toSave Our Schools on July 30th in DC. I'll be there too.
But I'm not going to DC for the march. I'm going for the messy work of organizing what comes after the march that will take place at the SOS Congress on July 31st at American University from 11am to 3pm EST.
We are right to make demands, to craft policy proposals, and to seek media attention. We need coherent narratives about the school to prison pipeline, the learning and teaching environments that grow curiosity, a connection to place, and meaningfully engage students in learning that matters.
A Review of Democratic Education: A Beginning of a Story, by Yaacov Hecht
by Shawn Strader in Op-Education
Ever since I was a middle aged teenager, I've wanted to work for a social revolution. I've wanted to help create a world where all people can collaborate and pursue their own personal goals, unhindered by oppression from the state, their communities, or any bully for that matter. To this day, I still can't pinpoint what got me passionate about working for a better tomorrow. I suppose if I had to narrow it down to one main influence, I would say it was politically charged Punk Rock music. I listened to a lot of Propagandhi growing up, and still do. That style of Punk Rock often contains lyrics that tell a story about a person or community that was oppressed and how they either won or lost in their battle to defeat the oppression. And as an angsty teenage kid held by the confines of public school, popularity, and my parents, that music with those stories of real life oppression really struck a nerve. That's why I started playing music - to change the world. But with so many ways to influence society, I
Ever since I was a middle aged teenager, I've wanted to work for a social revolution. I've wanted to help create a world where all people can collaborate and pursue their own personal goals, unhindered by oppression from the state, their communities, or any bully for that matter. To this day, I still can't pinpoint what got me passionate about working for a better tomorrow. I suppose if I had to narrow it down to one main influence, I would say it was politically charged Punk Rock music. I listened to a lot of Propagandhi growing up, and still do. That style of Punk Rock often contains lyrics that tell a story about a person or community that was oppressed and how they either won or lost in their battle to defeat the oppression. And as an angsty teenage kid held by the confines of public school, popularity, and my parents, that music with those stories of real life oppression really struck a nerve. That's why I started playing music - to change the world. But with so many ways to influence society, I
Quote of the Day
by Zuleka Irvin in Op-Education
I just finished reading "Compulsory Mis-Education by Paul Goodman, a recommended read. Here is a quote I found that remarkably summarizes IDEA's goals.
"Thus at present, facing a a confusing state of automated technology, excessive urbanization,
and entirely new patterns of work and leisure, the best educational brains out to be devoting
themselves to *various* means of educating and paths of growing up, appropriate to various
talents, conditions, and careers. We should be experimenting with different kinds of school,
I just finished reading "Compulsory Mis-Education by Paul Goodman, a recommended read. Here is a quote I found that remarkably summarizes IDEA's goals.
"Thus at present, facing a a confusing state of automated technology, excessive urbanization,
and entirely new patterns of work and leisure, the best educational brains out to be devoting
themselves to *various* means of educating and paths of growing up, appropriate to various
talents, conditions, and careers. We should be experimenting with different kinds of school,
Links and a Theory
by Zuleka Irvin in Op-Education
I was going through old email messages when I came across a link a friend sent me about a contest. The link was dead, so I decided to shorten it to the main http. I was redirected to a site by the name of "energizestudents.org." They feature videos about the things that should change in education, have a running blog roll, polls, and the "your point of view" education video contest. This site reminds me a lot of what we're doing here at IDEA. So I invite you all to check out the link - it might lend itself to a cool connection.
Other than that I've been pondering about the financial side of the education system. Schools complain that they aren't getting enough funding. Due to the issue of the debt ceiling, there is speculation about the desire to cut even more funding from public services. These are serious problems, but at the same time, moping around, or
I was going through old email messages when I came across a link a friend sent me about a contest. The link was dead, so I decided to shorten it to the main http. I was redirected to a site by the name of "energizestudents.org." They feature videos about the things that should change in education, have a running blog roll, polls, and the "your point of view" education video contest. This site reminds me a lot of what we're doing here at IDEA. So I invite you all to check out the link - it might lend itself to a cool connection.
Other than that I've been pondering about the financial side of the education system. Schools complain that they aren't getting enough funding. Due to the issue of the debt ceiling, there is speculation about the desire to cut even more funding from public services. These are serious problems, but at the same time, moping around, or
Teacher Appreciation Week: Reflections from my childhood
by Isaac Graves in Op-Education
Teachers have deeply impacted my life. Ok, not a revolutionary statement, but nevertheless true.
During the school day, my third grade class and our teacher Dave took a trip to our local park just half a block down from the Governor's mansion in Albany, New York. While throwing a baseball back and forth with Dave, I experienced something I had never previously experienced in my life: a teacher talking to me as a person. We were discussing whether the Cardinals had a real shot at the pennant and it hit me, he actually wanted to know what I thought. He considered my opinions valid and wanted to have a real conversation with me. Did it matter that I was nine and he was twenty-seven? No.
In the forth grade, my teacher Chris had a group of students including myself ranging in ages from nine to thirteen sitting down to work on Math. I had always been decent at math, but never viewed it as fun. What Chris did that day was simple, he explained why math was important. He didn't say, “I need to know it for the test.” He
Teachers have deeply impacted my life. Ok, not a revolutionary statement, but nevertheless true.
During the school day, my third grade class and our teacher Dave took a trip to our local park just half a block down from the Governor's mansion in Albany, New York. While throwing a baseball back and forth with Dave, I experienced something I had never previously experienced in my life: a teacher talking to me as a person. We were discussing whether the Cardinals had a real shot at the pennant and it hit me, he actually wanted to know what I thought. He considered my opinions valid and wanted to have a real conversation with me. Did it matter that I was nine and he was twenty-seven? No.
In the forth grade, my teacher Chris had a group of students including myself ranging in ages from nine to thirteen sitting down to work on Math. I had always been decent at math, but never viewed it as fun. What Chris did that day was simple, he explained why math was important. He didn't say, “I need to know it for the test.” He
Education Superheroes Coming to Your Town Soon! Review of Yaacov Hecht’s Democratic Education
by Kristan Morrison in democracy.edu
One of the things I love about summer is going to a nice air conditioned movie theater to lose myself in fantasy, drama, comedy, etc. for a couple of hours. I've been excited to notice that this summer there are a lot of superhero movies out there (Xmen, Thor, Green Lantern, Captain America, etc.) because I just love superheroes -- as a kid I tried to turn myself into Wonder Woman after watching Lynda Carter do it on TV. My spinning around never resulted in any transformation, but a girl can dream, can't she?
I've been thinking lately about how superhero stories are so popular and wondering what this says about our collective cultural psyche. Do we somehow, deep down, desire to save the world and make it a better place? Or is it that we think only someone special can do it and we can only wait and watch on the sidelines? I want to
One of the things I love about summer is going to a nice air conditioned movie theater to lose myself in fantasy, drama, comedy, etc. for a couple of hours. I've been excited to notice that this summer there are a lot of superhero movies out there (Xmen, Thor, Green Lantern, Captain America, etc.) because I just love superheroes -- as a kid I tried to turn myself into Wonder Woman after watching Lynda Carter do it on TV. My spinning around never resulted in any transformation, but a girl can dream, can't she?
I've been thinking lately about how superhero stories are so popular and wondering what this says about our collective cultural psyche. Do we somehow, deep down, desire to save the world and make it a better place? Or is it that we think only someone special can do it and we can only wait and watch on the sidelines? I want to
