Brecht Forum
2 hours
This event was held at the Brecht Forum and had representatives from a variety of progressive education groups speak on a panel about the issue of mayoral control of public schools. This newly formed coalition consisted of members from ICOPE, Time Out from Testing, NYCORE, and The Center for Immigrant Families. Their goal of meeting was to spread awareness of the detrimental effects of mayoral control on public education and how each of their groups is effectively working towards fighting it. They decided to unite as a coalition in order to have their individual voices heard more loudly and with much greater force. It was quite an interesting experience to hear how these different activist groups are working towards combating this pressing issue.
Martha Foote talked on behalf of Time Out for Testing. She highlighted the harmful effects of the increase in high-stakes testing in public education. She mentioned that under Klein, promotion between 3rd through 8th grade would be denied to those students who failed such tests. Foote effectively described the current state of our public education system as being reduced to a business model, one in which parents have no voice and teachers/administration are fearful of losing their jobs. She called for bringing the humanity back to education and a "time-out" from the testing regime.
Perla Placencia was the representative for Center for Immigrant Families. She and her colleague talked about the history of their organization and how it came to be. Additionally, this group discussed how they believe education to be a site for necessary change that cannot be achieved through mayoral control. They believe that the public school system should be one that serves and cares about all students and their rights. Under mayoral control, they do not feel that the current public school system embodies such ideals. Therefore they are utilizing the help of parents in the community to use their voices to push for a more just system.
Our very own Edwin Mayorga was the representative for NYCORE at this event. He did an absolutely amazing job of course! ;) Edwin talked about NYCORE and its mission, that the work of educators is to struggle for justice in the classroom and out in the streets. "The struggle for justice doesn't end when the school bell rings!" In regards to mayoral control, Edwin posed three questions: Who is the city? What is the purpose of school? Who are we accountable to? In answering these he mentioned that the mayor is taking away the voices of the community, teachers, and parents through mayoral control. He went on to describe how it punishes the lower working class and highlights the stark differences provided to such groups. Edwin called for an alternative to mayoral control and its effects on public education. An anti-oppressive model of education should be put in place, one where the educator's role is to work towards social change. It is a system that places students and families at the heart of education and one where the role of education is transformation.
Lastly, Sam Anderson talked on behalf of ICOPE. He said that we should not be tweaking our current educational system but instead should be working towards rethinking and recreating it. He claimed education to be a human right and that the call to end mayoral control should go beyond simply ending it. Anderson thinks we should be considering the kind of education we want and be working to achieve that type of system. He argued that it isn't enough to voice our opposition to mayoral control but that we also need to create radical change in our educational system to ensure that this type of control never happens again.
Overall I found this meeting to be very informative and quite inspiring. I loved seeing a panel of people from different areas of focus, ban together to work towards creating change in our current educational system. This experience helped me see that the role of educator is truly multi-faceted. Not only do we have a duty in the classroom but we have a responsibility to join forces with groups in our community to work for a common cause in education. Establishing these types of relationships is immensely important in benefiting our youth and future generations. As a future educator I plan to work towards transforming the current state of our educational system and it was refreshing to see that others are actively engaging in that process with such passion and success.
Martha Foote talked on behalf of Time Out for Testing. She highlighted the harmful effects of the increase in high-stakes testing in public education. She mentioned that under Klein, promotion between 3rd through 8th grade would be denied to those students who failed such tests. Foote effectively described the current state of our public education system as being reduced to a business model, one in which parents have no voice and teachers/administration are fearful of losing their jobs. She called for bringing the humanity back to education and a "time-out" from the testing regime.
Perla Placencia was the representative for Center for Immigrant Families. She and her colleague talked about the history of their organization and how it came to be. Additionally, this group discussed how they believe education to be a site for necessary change that cannot be achieved through mayoral control. They believe that the public school system should be one that serves and cares about all students and their rights. Under mayoral control, they do not feel that the current public school system embodies such ideals. Therefore they are utilizing the help of parents in the community to use their voices to push for a more just system.
Our very own Edwin Mayorga was the representative for NYCORE at this event. He did an absolutely amazing job of course! ;) Edwin talked about NYCORE and its mission, that the work of educators is to struggle for justice in the classroom and out in the streets. "The struggle for justice doesn't end when the school bell rings!" In regards to mayoral control, Edwin posed three questions: Who is the city? What is the purpose of school? Who are we accountable to? In answering these he mentioned that the mayor is taking away the voices of the community, teachers, and parents through mayoral control. He went on to describe how it punishes the lower working class and highlights the stark differences provided to such groups. Edwin called for an alternative to mayoral control and its effects on public education. An anti-oppressive model of education should be put in place, one where the educator's role is to work towards social change. It is a system that places students and families at the heart of education and one where the role of education is transformation.
Lastly, Sam Anderson talked on behalf of ICOPE. He said that we should not be tweaking our current educational system but instead should be working towards rethinking and recreating it. He claimed education to be a human right and that the call to end mayoral control should go beyond simply ending it. Anderson thinks we should be considering the kind of education we want and be working to achieve that type of system. He argued that it isn't enough to voice our opposition to mayoral control but that we also need to create radical change in our educational system to ensure that this type of control never happens again.
Overall I found this meeting to be very informative and quite inspiring. I loved seeing a panel of people from different areas of focus, ban together to work towards creating change in our current educational system. This experience helped me see that the role of educator is truly multi-faceted. Not only do we have a duty in the classroom but we have a responsibility to join forces with groups in our community to work for a common cause in education. Establishing these types of relationships is immensely important in benefiting our youth and future generations. As a future educator I plan to work towards transforming the current state of our educational system and it was refreshing to see that others are actively engaging in that process with such passion and success.
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