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 …
by Michelle Gunderson. Imagine you are 8 years old. Your parents respectfully requested that you not participate in standardized testing. Yet, your school system insists on putting the test in front of you, reading the directions, and making you sit quietly for the duration of the test. Now that over a thousand …
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 …
By Michelle Gunderson. What would our city look like if it were run by Chicago teachers alongside other labor and community groups? This was the thought that kept running through my head as we gathered to support the launch of the new United Working Families political organization in Chicago. I have strong hope …
By Michelle Strater Gunderson. On December 1, the Board of Education of the Chicago Public Schools announced its plan to shutter Harper, Hope, Robeson, and Team Englewood High Schools. All of these high schools are located in the predominantly African American Englewood neighborhood. With their planned closing …
By Michelle Strater Gunderson. If you are fortunate, every once in a while you will meet someone who breathes the fire of justice. In my life Sarah Chambers, a special education teacher from Maria Saucedo School in Chicago, fills that role. Yet, this is the teacher who the Chicago Public Schools suspended last …
By Michelle Strater Gunderson. Last week a group of my first grade girls was taking an unusually long time in the bathroom. When you teach little ones you get a sixth sense for when something is going on. I knocked on the door and said, “Dear ones, whatever can be keeping you?” The ring leader answered me with …
By Michelle Strater Gunderson. When I was small and my world was safe, I would wake up on Christmas morning and there would always be an orange at the bottom of my stocking – a “store bought orange” as my mother would say. Because, you see, on our family farm it was always a source of pride that almost …
By Michelle Strater Gunderson. I worked the work of three people this week. I do not say this to be congratulated or slapped on the back. I have never been one of those people who brag about being tired because I do too much. I say this because it is true. This past week the students at my school were taking the …
By Michelle Strater Gunderson. A teachers’ contract is not just about money. It’s an agreement between government and a community about how children will be treated. Now, don’t get me wrong – I will always advocate for reasonable compensation for educators, especially in light of the amount of …
