At Occupy the DOE, A Push for Democratic, Not Corporate, Education Reform | The Nation

At Occupy the DOE, A Push for Democratic, Not Corporate, Education Reform | The Nation:

At Occupy the DOE, A Push for Democratic, Not Corporate, Education Reform

Alleen Brown 

April 9, 2013  

Activists at the Occupy the DOE march on Saturday, April 6th protested education reform measures including high-stakes standardized testing, school closures, and defunding. Photo by Dave Madeloni.

 Chicago Teachers Union president Karen Lewis, blogger and activist Diane Ravitch, educator and writer Deborah Meier, some of the brightest lights in a movement that seeks to shut down a brand of education reform that weakens unions, closes struggling schools, and evaluates teachers based on an endless cycle of student standardized tests, rallied in D.C. last weekend, for the second annual Occupy the Department of Education event April 4 to 7.

The rhetoric was fiery, the crowd was energized, but the square in front of the Education Department was barely half full. At the rally’s height, around 175 protesters marched to the White House.

About the Author

Alleen Brown

Alleen Brown is a Minneapolis-based writer. Her work has been published in In These Times, MinnPost.com and the Twin...

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Alleen Brown

The growing movement against corporate-style education reform has its work cut out for it. It is, after all, challenging an insidiously well-messaged behemoth funded by billionaires and sanctioned by both major political parties.

There are some signs of a revolution afoot. In January, Seattle teachers at one high school boycotted a district-mandated standardized test. Some ten thousand people rallied in Texas in February for more school funding and fewer exams. Groups from around the U.S. have filed lawsuits calling school closures and turnaround plans civil rights violations. Perhaps most inspiring to those gathered in D.C. last weekend, last September saw theChicago Teachers Union strike, where 29,000 educators demanded not just better working conditions for teachers but also