Students

En la escuela Nebinger en el sur de Philadelphia los estudiantes representaron la batalla del 5 de mayo de 1862, ocurrida en la ciudad de Puebla, por medio de una obra teatral.
Casa Monarca por medio de su cofundadora, Dalia O'Gorman, fue responsable de montar la obra teatral y bailes folkloricos mexicanos.

Foto; Miguel Ruiz/Edgar Ramirez

Hundreds of teachers and workers rallied at the School District headquarters on Monday to protest massive layoffs and testify at the meeting of the School Reform Commission.

Close to 1,500 teachers and 3,000 school district workers received layoff notices last week. The School District says it has to cut the jobs to close a budget gap.

In this video, two recently laid off teachers speak about how the cuts will impact students.

Students at the University of Pennsylvania are holding a teach-in to discuss Penn's social and political practices. The students are asking the following questions:  Whom did Penn evict to make its home further west? What are the implications of the research Penn does for the Pentagon? How much does Penn pay its workers? And if Penn truly cares about diversity, why is it not reflected in its faculty? Come out on Tuesday, April 26, at 4:30PM to hear more. 

---------------

On Wednesday 24 November, tens of thousands of students walked out of their Schools, Colleges and Universities in protest against the cuts and austerity measures, whilst others occupied theirs. Occupations, teach-ins and walkouts have been reported at over 20 universities and colleges throughout the country. From United Kingdom IMC

Round-up of some of the actions

Across the state of New Jersey, high school students staged a one day strike Tuesday to protest cuts to the state's education budget.

The action was organized mainly through facebook, where an event page calling for a statewide walkout drew over 17,000 attendees.

On, Tuesday April 20th around 2pm, Philadelphia Student Union conducted a 3-minute action. In only 180 seconds, we showed the power and leadership that young people have when we are organized for non-violence.

By Dan Jones & Azeem Hill

A key feature of any public education system is its purpose. Right now, a lot of people are putting forward the idea that the purpose of our schools is to prepare students to “compete in the global economy.” The proponents of this framework span the political spectrum, from Newt Gingrich to Barack Obama, but is it really the best thing for students?

My experience in school has been hard because I have been told that I would never amount to anything. I’m organizing with the Philadelphia Student Union (PSU) to prove to those people who have counted me out that I am somebody and my opinion matters. I come from University City High School, which is an Empowerment School. Empowerment Schools are the district’s “lowest performing” schools on standardized tests. So the message that I get is that I am a troublemaker, that I am low class, or that by the time I get to 12th grade I will drop out.

A new model of teacher development is emerging that could help 'hard to staff' neighborhood schools build and retain a base of effective teachers by recruiting young adults in the neighborhood to choose a career in teaching.  This model is called 'Grow Your Own' and it is happening in Chicago, thanks to the organizing work of students and communities. Dan Jones interviewed Rod Wilson of Kenwood Oakland Community Organization (KOCO) in Chicago, about how 'Grow Your Own' is changing the way teachers and communities interact.

Tuesday evening, members of Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals (PASNAP) and union officials gathered together students, Temple staff and community members to educate the Temple community on the day-to-day realities of healthcare providers at Temple Hospital. President of AFSCME Local 1723 and Temple University Staff Paul Dannenfelser began the discussion by sharing that this was another chapter in the story of Temple University’s approach to Labor on campus. He shared that his union went through a similar two-year fight for a contract in which Temple University was “not only anti-union but anti-worker.” He expressed earnestly the energy of the room, saying, “The nurses’ fight is our fight, the student fight is our fight. We are all in this together.”