3rd Annual TSJ ItAG Cycle

May 10, 2012 0 comments


Teachers for Social Justice’s 3rd Annual Cycle of Inquiry to Action Groups, or ItAGs, wrapped up on Saturday, March 17 with a report-back event held at Marwen, a youth arts organization.  ItAGs are groups of educators and activists who meet for 8 weeks to study a topic related to social justice and education.  They also commit to taking on a project that addresses the focus of their learning, thereby integrating study, reflection, and action.  TSJ adopted the ItAG model from NYCORE, the New York Collective of Radical Educators, our sister education activist organization.  Since 2010, TSJ has supported a yearly cycle of ItAGs running from January through March.  This year, 4 ItAGs completed the cycle – Anti-Military Recruitment in High Schools, Queer Issues in Education, Youth Activism, and the Community Writing Project.
The Anti-Military Recruitment group is focusing their action on educating the community about policies requiring parents and students to give consent for Chicago Public Schools to release their information to recruiters.  They plan to submit a proposal to facilitate a workshop at the People’s Summit, a convening of activists organized by Occupy Chicago to build on the energy of the NATO protests.  The Queer Issues in Education group (ChiQueer), is creating and compiling curriculum that addresses queer issues.  They plan to make it accessible online.  To incorporate the stories of queer Chicagoans into that curriculum, they’re making videos of queer people talking about their experiences, which will be available in conjunction with other resources.  The Youth Activism group is continuing to build together through continued critical discussion of anti-adultism, being adult allies, and supporting youth of diverse identities.  They are looking towards possibly facilitating a workshop at the TSJ Curriculum Fair this November.  The Community Writing Project seeks to further advance the writing workshop method in diverse educational and community-based settings.  They plan to build relationships with the Popular Education Alliance and gather a learning network of educators interested in learning more about the relationship between community-based writing and libratory education.  Finally, the Science/Speculative Fiction and Social Justice group did not complete the ItAG cycle, but the facilitators plan to continue gathering educators who are interested in sharing their passion for SciFi through a social justice lens.  Be on the look out for events from them!
If you are interested in following up with the work of any of the ItAGs, or in facilitating an ItAG for the 2013 cycle, please contact teachersforjustice@hotmail.com
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Public Forum On Education in Chicago - May 5th

April 21, 2012 0 comments


* School closings & turnarounds
* Attacks on teachers & the CTU
* Unfunded longer school day
* Too much testing

WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE??

Join Teachers for Social Justice, educators, 
parents, students, and union and 
community members for a forum to 
discuss the way forward!

Saturday, May 5, 5PM – 7 PM
Intuit Art Center
756 N. Milwaukee Ave. 
(@ Chicago Blue Line Stop)
Chicago , IL
(Donation at the door appreciated)

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CTU's Report on Schools Chicago's Students Deserve

April 3, 2012 0 comments

(Click here to download the full report.)

Back in the middle of this past February, the Chicago Teachers Union released a comprehensive report that offers research-based policy recommendations to improve student academic performance and to strengthen neighborhood schools. Chicago Public School (CPS) parents, Local School Council leaders, clergy and educators joined the CTU in supporting this proposal. The following is the executive summary from that report:

The Schools Chicago's Students Deserve is a new Chicago Teachers Union study which argues in favor of proven educational reforms to dramatically improve the education of more than 400,000 students in a district of 675 schools.

These reforms are desperately needed and can lead chicago towards the world-class educational system its students deserve. Our study presents 46 pages of research-based details on the following 10 essential recommendations:

1. Recognize That Class Size Matters. Drastically reduce class size. We currently have one of the largest class sizes in the state. This greatly inhibits the ability of our students to learn and thrive.

2. Educate The Whole Child. Invest to ensure that all schools have recess and physical education equipment, healthy food offerings, and classes in art, theater, dance, and music in every school. Offer world languages and a variety of subject choices. Provide every school with a library and assign the commensurate number of librarians to staff them.

3. Create More Robust Wrap-around Services. The Chicago Public Schools system (CPS) is far behind recommended staffing levels suggested by national professional associations. The number of school counselors, nurses, social workers, and psychologists must increase dramatically to serve Chicago’s population of low-income students. Additionally, students who cannot afford transportation costs need free fares.

4. Address Inequities In Our System. Students and their families recognize the apartheid-like system managed by CPS. It denies resources to the neediest schools, uses discipline policies with a disproportionate harm on students of color, and enacts policies that increase the concentrations of students in high poverty and racially segregated schools.

5. Help Students Get Off To A Good Start. We need to provide age-appropriate (not test-driven) education in the early grades. All students should have access to pre-kindergarten and to full day kindergarten.

6. Respect And Develop The Professionals. Teachers need salaries comparable to others with their education and experience. They need time to adequately plan their lessons and collaborate with colleagues, as well as the autonomy and shared decision-making to encourage professional judgment. CPS needs to hire more teaching assistants so that no students fall through the cracks.

7. Teach All Students. We need stronger commitments to address the disparities that exist due to our lack of robust programs for emergent bilingual students and services for students faced with a variety of special needs.

8. Provide Quality School Facilities. No more leaky roofs, asbestos-lined bathrooms, or windows that refuse to shut. Students need to be taught in facilities that are well-maintained and show respect for those who work and go to school there.

9. Partner With Parents. Parents are an integral part of a child’s education. They need to be encouraged and helped in that role.

10. Fully Fund Education. A country and city that can afford to take care of its affluent citizens can afford to take care of those on the other end of the income scale. There is no excuse for denying students the essential services they deserve.

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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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