By Michelle Gunderson. Twelve people sit in a circle under the trees outside Dyett High School in Chicago on a hunger strike. They share stories of their experience with Chicago schools – teachers they have loved, principals they have battled, the times they have been arrested fighting for equity in our schools. …
By Michelle Gunderson. Twelve people sit in a circle under the trees outside Dyett High School in Chicago on a hunger strike. They share stories of their experience with Chicago schools – teachers they have loved, principals they have battled, the times they have been arrested fighting for equity in our schools. …
By Michelle Gunderson. This is the time of year when teachers start thinking about what the next school year will bring. We wonder what classes we will be given, what our students will be like, what joys and challenges we will face. Teaching is a profession that occupies the mind – teachers think about schooling …
By Anthony Cody. This Tuesday voters in Chicago will choose between incumbent mayor Rahm Emanuel and challenger Chuy Garcia. Garcia shared his views on education here a few weeks ago, and has earned the support of most teachers and the Chicago Teachers Union. The Network for Public Education also has endorsed him. …
By Anthony Cody. The schools of Chicago are ruled by a school board appointed by the mayor (though efforts are under way to allow for a democratically elected board.) For this reason, educators, students and parents are very interested in the upcoming mayoral election. The Chicago Teachers Union has been …
By Israel Muñoz. For those who may not know me, my name is Israel Muñoz. I am a first-generation Mexican-American studying Mathematics-Economics and International Political Economy at Fordham University in New York. I am also one of the founders of the Chicago Students Union – a student-led grassroots …
By Michelle Gunderson. My friend who is a janitor in the Chicago Public Schools told me that he warned his daughters to only use the bathrooms at school if they have to. He said, “I know how impossible it is to get our schools clean right now. It just can’t be done with the cutbacks.” Can you imagine telling …
By Michelle Gunderson. We have a saying in the testing resistance movement – don’t feed the beast, starve the data monster. When parents opt their children out of testing they are taking a strong stance against having their children’s data used as a mechanism to sort students, punish teachers, and privatize …
Notes on building our movement and the AFT following the Los Angeles convention By Kipp Dawson (rank-and-file delegate to the AFT convention from Pittsburgh) This is a life-or-death time for the American Federation of Teachers. The July 12-14, 2014, convention reflected both positive movement, and continuing …
