How Radical Must We Be To Get the Schools Our Children Deserve? United Opt Out Musings
There was a point during Chris Hedges keynote address today when I could barely catch my breath.
My chest was heaving, tears were leaking from my eyes and I wasn’t sure I would be able to stop.
The Pulitzer Prize winning journalist had his audience enraptured at the United Opt Out Conference in Philadelphia Saturday morning.
I’ve read Chris before. We’ve all read Chris before. But I had never seen or heard him speak.
It was kind of like hearing a good sermon by a pastor who felt every word he said. And that really was it – Chris FELT every word.
When I’ve read Hedges’ articles on Truthdig, I’ve found myself getting angry. He stirs me up. He disturbs me, makes me feel uncomfortable. And when I heard him speak today I was surprised that he seemed to be reacting the same way to his own words.
When he talked about teaching teenage prisoners, he was emotionally invested in the story he was telling. When he criticized American neoliberal policies, he was just as angry as his audience.
The only difference was that his sorrow and rage somehow became transformed in his throat into something akin to poetry.
He turned the struggle of the oppressed into something beautiful. He transformed the hurt in my chest into something profound. He mutated my disturbance into a sense of actions-to-be.
I won’t repeat the words he said. I’d never be able to reproduce them with anything resembling his eloquence. But I will remark on one of his closing remarks because it How Radical Must We Be To Get the Schools Our Children Deserve? United Opt Out Musings | gadflyonthewallblog:
Big Education Ape: United Opt Out Conference Highlights Dual Role of Technology in Education | gadflyonthewallblog http://bit.ly/1QkcpKn
Click Here to Watch United Opt Out Conference: Live Streaming by Film Our Way Films - YouTube http://bit.ly/1n2E5rk
