Educational Justice in the Next Four Years: Post-Election Reflections
2017, NO.45
This special post-election, online-only issue of VUE features interviews with a wide range of thought leaders in the field of educational justice – including practitioners, policy and foundation leaders, youth and adult activists, and academic researchers – reflecting on what lies ahead in the aftermath of the 2016 election.
“I call what we were experiencing after the election a moment of ‘anxious apprehension,’ which can also be a moment of activist birth that sets the stage for a new level of consciousness to be awakened.”
“After the election I wrote to all of my students – past and present – and said, ‘We were born for a moment such as this. And we will do what is necessary to secure the future for all children.’”
“We need to give students the ability to activate their own voice, to speak up, and create spaces for them to solve problems that we may not be able to see as adults.”
“You still have your voice. You still have people power. Continue to fight for what you believe in.”
“The onus now is on educators, community organizations, civil rights organizations, and others in the states to engage with state agencies to build new approaches to educational improvement.”
“We’re going to advance a narrative about what needs to change and see if we can grow a group of new leaders who will be courageous but also smart enough to push in that direction.”
“I think people see this as a call to really stand up, and say, ‘Our schools will be safe places. Our schools will be sanctuaries. We will have good public schools in our communities, and we will fight for them.’”
“Municipal officials know that education is tied to quality of life and public safety; cities are better off when more people are well-educated.”
“Charter schools and traditional public schools should not be avoiding one another, but instead I think we need to convene as soon as we can to explore common ground. We are all serving similar students, similar needs, and we are facing similar challenges.”