Upcoming Events

March 30, 2012 0 comments

The following are some upcoming events that should be of interest to the TSJ community.

Forced Out: A Forum on Deportation & Incarceration - April 5th
When: Thurs April 5, 9:30am-2pm
Where: UIC Student Center, 750 S. Halsted
Cost: Free
This city-wide forum provides a starting place for a conversation among individuals and families impacted by "mass detention." It also gives students, activists and allies a chance to make connections across issues that are often seen as separate and even competing. By educating people about the shared logic of the prison and immigration systems, Forced Out will increase the links among affected groups and help to create a more unified voice for policy change across all communities.

The Immigrant Youth Justice League will be collaborating to organize two workshops, one on youth and criminalization and another on the intersections of incarceration and detention for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.

Uplift Community High School's 2nd Annual Social Justice Expo - April 12
When: Thurs, April 12th
Daytime Exhibit Presentations: 10:30 am - 1:15 pm
Evening "Edutainment" Program: 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Where: Uplift Community High School, 900 W. Wilson Ave.
Cost: Free
For more information, contact J. Cyriac Mathew at jcyriacmathew@hotmail.com
Uplift's Social Justice Expo is an event that highlights social justice-related work being done by students inside and outside of the classroom.
The daytime portion of the Expo is an academic fair in which students will be presenting their work. The evening portion of the Expo will feature poetry, music, dance, and multimedia performances by students.

Youth-Led Teach in about Youth Justice: Locked Up and Locked Out - April 21st
When: Saturday, April 21st 2012 Time: 10:30 to 5:30 p.m. Where: Columbia College, 600 S. Michigan
Cost: Free
Register by April 15th here: http://lockeduplockedout.eventbrite.com/
This is an introductory teach-in appropriate for youth leaders (ages 12 to 24) who want a beginner's understanding of the school-to-prison pipeline, youth rights in the juvenile justice system, and the prison industrial complex's impact on youth. At the end of the training, participants will be presented with information about how they can connect to existing youth justice campaigns in Illinois.
Co-sponsored by Ellen Stone Belic Institute for the Study of Women and Gender in the Arts and Media, Columbia College Chicago. Workshops will be offered by youth affiliated with Circles and Ciphers, Project NIA, the Children and Family Justice Center (Know Your Rights Campaign), the Center for Change (Southwest Youth Collaborative), Blocks Together, and Voices of Youth in Chicago Education (VOYCE).
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Teaching Trayvon Martin and Other Resources

The following is a blog post that was shared by our brothers and sisters and compañer@s in the New York Collective of Radical Teachers (NYCORE).

Teaching Trayvon Martin: Three Strategies for Teacher Educators
Here's a video with discussion with Tim Wise, Al Sharpton and others.
There are also critical essays on Tim Wise's website,
New Rethinking Schools Issue and Resources!
(Posted from the Rethinking Schools website)

rethinkingschools/4B642F18.jpgEvery day, teachers are pressured to compete with each other and push their students over the testing precipice, all in the name of accountability-a word that has become corporate-speak for test, test, test.

The spring issue of Rethinking Schools celebrates our two new books that focus on what teachers are really accountable for: the learning, empowerment, and well-being of their students.


rethinkingschools/35C56A9C.jpgFirst, from Rethinking Elementary Education, we offer two articles:
In "A Message from a Black Mom to Her Son," RS editor Dyan Watson uses examples from her own childhood to describe how she hopes her child will be treated by teachers, and what she fears.
Elementary school teacher Mark Hansen takes us inside his classroom to watch him build on his students' lives and passions to help them create persuasive essays in "Writing for Justice: Persuasion from the Inside Out."

In "Testing Our Limits," RS editor Melissa Bollow Tempel describes the impact on her classroom and herself when her 1st-grade students have to use the computers to take standardized tests.
RS editor Wayne Au analyzes the impact of scripted curricula on teachers. He urges us to organize and fight back in "Playing Smart: Resisting the Script."
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This Saturday: ItAG Finale @ Marwen!

March 13, 2012 0 comments

Join us for the wrap-up of TSJ's 3rd annual Inquiry-to-Action Groups!

Educators from around the city have been meeting for 8 weeks to collectively study and plan actions around issues of social justice and schools. Come hear them reflect on their learning and plans. Hear report-backs from the groups focusing on Youth Activism, Anti-Military Recruitment in High Schools, Queer Issues in Education, The Community Writing Project, and Science/Speculative Fiction and Social Justice.

More information at http://www.teachersforjustice.org/2012/01/2012-inquiry-to-action-groups-itags.html. This is a pot-luck so please bring a dish to share.

Saturday March 17; 5:30-7:30 p.m.
Marwen (833 N. Orleans St., near the Brown Line's Chicago station)
Parking available (park in a space in the lot marked for Marwen)

This is an accessible space.

Childcare available through the Chicago Childcare Collective (please email chichildcareco@gmail.com if you're interested).
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