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TSJ Inquiry to Action Groups Starting July 8th! - Register Now

June 29, 2015 0 comments


Sign Up Now for an ItAG!
Inquiry to Action Groups

ItAGs are an opportunity for educators, parents, and community members to engage as learners and develop as education activists.

Kickoff Event: Wednesday, July 8, 6pm to 8pm location TBD

Finale Event: The week of August 17th, exact date TBD, 6 - 8 pm

Register for ItAGs here. Registration is required and free! 

In between events, individual ItAGs meet weekly (for five, two-hour sessions) to share experiences, respond to readings, exchange ideas, and develop plans of action.

All locations TBD - once registered, you will receive location information.

RADICAL CURRICULUM FOR PRIMARY GRADES
TUESDAYS 5:00 - 7:00 pm 7:00 PM
This group will focus on developing curriculum specific to the primary grades on the oppressive, patriarchal, and colonized history of the United States. Too often our students read about Christopher Columbus discovering America and the first Thanksgiving without the truth. There is not a lot of curriculum today that reveals what really happened, so this group will focus on developing that curriculum for the primary grades.

SOCIAL JUSTICE IN MATH INSTRUCTION
TUESDAYS 6:00 to 8:00 pm00 - 8:00 PM
Are you interested in incorporating Social Justice into your math curriculum? During this ITAG we would like to invite educators, parents, students, and community members to collectively participate in the creation of lesson plans that will allow students to read the world through mathematics. We will explore different social justice topics and their mathematical connections to develop lessons to use in different grade levels.

CULTURALLY RELEVANT SCIENCE CURRICULUM
TUESDAYS 10:30 am to 12:30 pm30 AM - 12:30 PM
In this ItAG we will work together to study culturally relevant science curriculum. We will also explore the NGSS to see what role they can/should play in culturally relevant teaching and learning. Our goal will be to design curricular units for high school science which engage students not only in learning science but also in learning to see their world through more critical eyes.

Register for ItAGs here. Registration is required and free!

Please spread the word to your educator/student/parent networks and on social media. 
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CPS-Sponsored "Community Forum" on the future of Dyett HS

June 10, 2015 0 comments


Wednesday, June 17
6:00 - 8:00 PM
King College Prep HS
4445 S. Drexel
Chicago
(Candlelight Vigil to follow immediately after!)

 
Support Bronzeville's Struggle for Dyett HS!

As many of you know, TSJ is part of the struggle to revitalize Walter Dyett HS, which the Board of Education voted (in 2012) to close by this month (see attached Dyett chronology for more). However, due to sustained community pressure, CPS agreed not to close it and to accept proposals. The Coalition to Revitalize Dyett HS, of which TSJ is a member, submitted one this April (see summary here), as did two other groups. June 17, CPS is holding a "community forum" as part of the proposal process. Below is the info from the Coalition, including its call for a candelight vigil immediate following the hearing.

 TSJers, wear your TSJ t-shirt (if you have one!), we want all to see and understand that the support for the Coalition's proposal is from both within and without the community.

Further Background
The effort to reclaim Dyett HS is part of the larger education justice work in Chicago, including the campaign organized by the Grassroots Education Movement (GEM) for an Elected Representative School Board, and for 50 Sustainable Community Schools (click formore info). We are also supporting the CTU's contract demands for "a just Chicago," and were with CTU yesterday, rocking Chicago's downtown, Tuesday June 9!

Dyett HS will be one of those 50 sustainable community schools, but it's not won yet. Bronzeville residents worked for over four years to develop a "village" of schools, controlled by the community, but the Mayor, CPS, and allies refused to accept that plan and instead instigated the proposal process. Also, if the Obama Library comes to Washington Park (accelerating Bronzeville gentrification), it will be next door to the HS.

At the June 17 CPS-scheduled "community forum," the Coalition and the two other groups will present their plans followed by community testimony. Whether you live in Bronzeville or outside, you can come to the forum, support the community's long-developed plan, and speak out FOR public education and AGAINST education privatization.

The Coalition is holding a candlelight vigil immediately after the forum, demanding 50 sustainable community schools, of which Dyett will be the first.
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Rally for a Just Chicago Tues. June 9 5:00 at the State of IL Building

June 3, 2015 0 comments

Rally to Support CTU Contract Demands and for
A Just Chicago!

Tuesday, June 9
5:00 - 6:30 PM
Thompson Center (State of Illinois Bldg)
Clark St. & Randolph St.

Stand with our CTU sisters and brothers! TSJers! Come out to the rally to support CTU's contract demands (click here), which are demands for a just Chicago and just education for CPS students.

Remember-Teachers' working conditions are students' learning conditions.

The below is from the CTU:

CPS is broke on purpose. For decades, politicians have diverted taxpayer money intended for Chicago's public schools to fund their pet projects. Now that the system is "broke," Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner and CPS interim CEO Jesse Ruiz think that teachers-and the parents of CPS learners- should expect and accept less.
 
As teachers, we stand for quality public education because every teacher wants to be an effective teacher. As the Chicago Teachers Union, we are bargaining with the city to renew our contract that expires June 30.
 
We ask for your support as we demand smaller class sizes, school libraries and art classes, and in-school counselors. We want to protect teachers' pensions so the profession will continue to attract and retain the best and brightest.
 
We ask you to stand with us as we fight for a quality education for every Chicago kid and a quality workplace for every Chicago teacher.


Download rally flyer here

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A summer of change... Check out these upcoming ways to get involved in #EdJustice

May 29, 2015 0 comments

Thurs, June 4, 6pm - Be at the Table
Make your voice heard and get updates about the CTU/CPS contract negotiations.
Mt. Carmel Missionary Baptist Church
2976 S. Wabash, Chicago

Tues June 9, 5pm Rally for a Fair Contract and a Just Chicago
Thompson Center Downtown Chicago

Join the TSJ Book Club
Saturday, June 13 2:30pm
"Alfie Kohn's Beyond Discipline: From Compliance to Community"
Uptown Library 929 W. Buena Ave.

Support the Coalition to Revitalize Dyett HS -
We need your voice at the official CPS Public Forum on Dyett
June 17th at 6PM - King High School, 4445 S. Drexel Blvd. (NOTE NEW LOCATION)
 - Candlelight Vigil to follow at 8PM

Fundraising Campaign for the Elected School Board Lawsuit
Please share the link to spread the word and donate to this crowd-funded education justice initiative


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Inquiry to Action: ItGAs are Back!

April 27, 2015 0 comments

Wondering what happened to the usual winter round of of Inquiry to Action Groups (ItAGs)? They’ve been moved to this summer!

TSJ is looking for topics and facilitators for our 6th annual round of Inquiry to Action Groups (ItAGs), set to begin in June of 2015!
 
What’s an ItAG?
 
ItAGs gather educators, activists and their allies to study a topic and collectively create an action around that area of study, making it a true community of praxis. The topics and themes are always consistent
with TSJ's principles of working toward education that is anti-racist, multicultural / multilingual, and grounded in the experiences of students. ItAGs are open to everyone with the interest to support, study, and take action on issues of education and social justice.
 
What’s the time commitment?
 
Summer ItAGs will meet anywhere twice a week during the summer, for 4 to 6 weeks. There will also be a ItAG kickoff event as well as a ItAG closing.
 

ItAG Topics?
 
We welcome topics that explore the intersection of education and social justice. Previous topics have included: New Teachers & Social Justice, Freire’s Pedagogy, Gender Violence and Prevention Education, Community Care, Early Childhood Education, and Radical Curriculum Development.
 
If you have another topic or area of interest that you think would be good for an ItAG, or if you would like to co-facilitate an ItAG, please email J. Cyriac Mathew at jcyriacmathew@gmail.com by May 11th, 2015.
 
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Criminalization of Black Teachers

April 22, 2015 0 comments


Teachers for Social Justice
TSJ Spring General Meeting
Sat, April 25, 11-1

UIC College of Education (ETMSW)
1040 W. Harrison St
Room 2433 (2nd Floor)
-ALL ARE WELCOME-

Agenda

1. Political Discussion:
Co-Facilitated by Aja Reynolds (TSJ) and Monique Redeaux (CTU Black Caucus)
Criminalizing Black teachers: Atlanta's cheating scandal and the racist underbelly of education reform

We will discuss the commentary named above, written by Brittney Cooper, pls read before  coming. You can read it online here, or download it here. 

2. TSJ summer and fall actions, programs, projects
  • Elected Representative School Board Campaign. We got 90% of the votes in favor of an elected school board. Now we have to get the law changed. Learn about city-wide strategy to win an elected Board of Education, sign up to get involved
  • TSJ Summer Inquiry to Action Groups (Itags)
  • TSJ book club
  • 2015 Curriculum Fair (announcement date, committees and sign up volunteers
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