New York Collective of Radical Educators
…the struggle for justice does not end when the school bell rings.
NYCoRE has begun compiling resources to bring perspective regarding the tragedy in Newtown, CT.
As Bob Peterson, President of the Milwaukee Teachers’ Education Association, reminds us:
“In the coming days, we will mourn the victims of the Sandy Hook tragedy. But we must also organize to prevent future such tragedies. We have no choice.”
Please consider adding relevant resources.
http://nycore-teaching.wikispaces.com/Talking+%26+Teaching+about+Newtown%2C+CT
In These Times piece on Anti-high stakes testing work in NYC. Includes quotes from NYCoRE members Rosie Frascella and Wazina Zondon and the Movement of Rank and File Educators (MORE)
“Every year, New York City middle-schoolers subject themselves to a grueling academic ritual that could make or break their educational futures, or so they’re told. The 2.5-hour multiple-choice Specialized High School Admissions Test (SHSAT) serves as the sole gateway to a suite of elite public schools—particularly Bronx Science, Stuyvesant and Brooklyn Technical. The kids who make the cut tend to be disproportionately Asian and white; Latino and black students are vastly underrepresented.
Civil rights groups are now waging a legal challenge accusing New York City’s education authorities of tying the elite tier of schools to an arbitrary test that effectively perpetuates inequality. The complaint was filed by the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, LatinoJustice PRLDEF and the Center for Law and Social Justice at Medgar Evers College on behalf of a coalition of civil rights and community groups.”
“The backdrop to the legal controversy is a growing rebellion against high-stakes standardized tests, which some say perpetuate racial and socioeconomic equity in urban schools. The SHSAT is separate from the state’s standardized test system (which is designed to comply with federal education reforms), but, as a gatekeeper to educational opportunity, raises similar concerns.”
INTERACTIVE WIKISPACE
As NYC/NJ teachers get ready to return to schools this week, NYCoRE wanted to create a space for teachers to post and find resources to support us in discussing Hurricane Sandy with our students. Please use this site by adding articles and resources that you may use in your K-12 classrooms to support students’ socioemotional needs, to make connections to larger issues of social and environmental justice, and to seek and provide opportunities to support those affected. Our aim is for this to be an interactive forum.
To add resources
http://nycore-teaching.wikispaces.com/Talking+%26+Teaching+about+Hurricane+Sandy