Chicago school activists get trained in civil disobedience tactics:

Chicago school activists get trained in civil disobedience tactics

Posted by Valerie Strauss on March 15, 2013 at 7:00 am

Chicago teachers on strike last fall. (By John Gress/Reuters)

Chicago Public Schools officials are considering closing as many as 129 public schools said to be under-enrolled — and activists are gearing up for a fight.

The Chicago Teachers Union is co-sponsoring “Citywide Non-Violent Civil Disobedience Trainings” to teach parents, teachers and others  protest techniques, including disruptions, occupations and arrests, according to a union press release. The trainings, the release said, are going to be led by political activist and scholar Lisa Fithian, who for decades has been a student, labor and community organizer on a range of issues. Chicago Teachers Union Vice President Jesse Sharkey will participate in one of the training sessions, which is also being sponsored by the Grassroots Education Movement, a group of community-based organizations from across the city.

Over the last decade some 70 cities have closed public schools, some because they are 

A new education story

by Valerie Strauss

Here’s a piece and a short film about new education narratives from Vicki Abeles, a parent of three and the director of the documentary, “Race to Nowhere,” a documentary that challenges current thinking about how to prepare students for success. By … Continue reading →

A telling tweet

by Valerie Strauss

Finland is always held up a model for education reform. Here’s a tweet from Pasi Sahlberg, an international education expert and author of “Finnish Lessons,” about what Finnish teachers think about some of the American reforms: In Finland half of … Continue reading →

Activists: D.C. school-closure lawsuit could come by end of March

by Emma Brown

Opponents of D.C. school closures said Thursday night that they plan to file a lawsuit against the city before the end of the month.
Speaking at an anti-school-closure rally at Temple of Praise in Southeast Washington, attorney Johnny Barnes declined to say whether he plans to file the lawsuit in local or federal court.
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