Big Shoulders: Strike Stories From the City That Works

• In Event: Poster Session 1
  In Poster Session: Biographical and Documentary Research SIG Poster Session

Abstract

From NCLB to the current push for teacher evaluation, educators—especially in Chicago have become demoralized and angry. Every few weeks brings another devastating discovery, whether a new round of school closures or a ridiculous-sounding idea from a conservative think tank—which by now we’ve learned is likely to turn up as a serious policy proposal. Watching all the dots connect has been worse still: It’s not well-intentioned error; it’s a strategic assault on public education as an enterprise. Being in Chicago as the city’s teachers took to the streets was transformative. We explain the 2012 teachers’ strike as a phenomenon of Chicago, a historic location in the United States labor movement that is poised to lead once again.

Authors

• Pamela J. Konkol, Concordia University - Chicago

• Isabel Nunez, Concordia University - Chicago

• Simeon Martin Stumme, Concordia University - Chicago

• Gregory Michie, Concordia University - Chicago