Category Archives: Rouge Forum Update

Rouge Forum Update

Dear Friends,

There is still time to submit a proposal for the Rouge Forum Conference. Come enjoy the company of sane people.

Is it trite to say that the class war that we noticed, among a very few others, years ago, rages now, in schools and out? Surely, elites know it, even if too many on our side don’t.

Bloomberg News group seems to be the only section of the corporate press truly interested in tracking where the $9.7 billion(+) bailout went. They filed suit and came up nearly blank. Secrecy, as we know, is a cornerstone of tyranny.

Here we see Oregon schools gutted by the collapsing economy (better termed as Their Economy)

California is, right now, issuing thousands of layoff notices to school workers.

People will fight back. There is always resistance. Here are two Seattle teachers who retained their integrity by supporting their kids right to opt out of exams that were completely inappropriate for them. The teachers were suspended. You can email your thought to the Seattle Superintendent at andy.dorn@k12.wa.us

After months of secrecy, NEA’s bosses finally advised some members that they have been working behind the scenes, again, to merge NEA’s 3.5 million members with the AFL-CIO and the splinter group, Change to Win. On the face of it, solidarity might be appealing. But neither the AFL-CIO nor the CTW has ever practiced solidarity unionism. To the contrary, the labor bureaucrats have systematically disorganized workers’s job actions, as with the Detroit Teachers Wildcat, and they have used violence against labor reformers, as with the SEIU attack on Labor Notes in 2008. All NEA would get would be a more undemocratic structure, a la the AFT.

Meanwhile, NEA mis-leaders joined AFT, the Business Roundtable, and other employer groups to promote national teaching standards. Why national standards? It is not possible to split foreign policy and domestic policy. The education budget is a war budget. The crux of the US education project is to produce students so witless, docile, loyal, yet useful, they will support the poor of their home nation going off to fight and die for the rich. Bill Blum noticed this recently when he reminded us of this quote from the song about racism from the Broadway classic show, “South Pacific” “You’ve got to be taught” …

You’ve got to be taught
from year to year.
It’s got to be drummed
in your dear little ear.
You’ve got to be taught
before it’s too late.
Before you are 6 or 7 or 8.
To hate all the people
your relatives hate.
You’ve got to be carefully taught.

From the NEA press release:

NEA partners to develop standards for measuring 21st century skills.Education collaborative strives to ensure global competitiveness for students:

WASHINGTON – February 23, 2009 – NEA is pleased to announce its partnership with the Council of Chief State School Officers, the National Governors Association, Achieve, Inc., the Alliance for Excellent Education, the Hunt Institute, the National Association of State Boards of Education, and the Business Roundtable, in a new state-led initiative to improve the access of every student to a complete, high-quality education that provides the skills and knowledge needed to thrive in the 21st century. The Common Core State Standards Initiative is working to produce a common core of voluntary state standards across grades. The K-12 standards would cover English/language arts, math, and eventually science. The initiative plans to be an inclusive and transparent process that will include input from education, civil rights and business leaders among others. “NEA welcomes the opportunity to participate in this effort to provide manageable, high-quality standards for adoption by states to guide efforts to improve education,” said NEA President Dennis Van Roekel. “We are pleased that the voices of classroom educators will now be a part of this process…

When the bosses say Cut Back. We must say Fight Back. No Concessions. No Layoffs. No wage or benefits cuts. Cap class size at 20 for everyone. Hire more people to combat unemployment. Go get us the Schools Tarp. Or we will shut your schools down and open freedom schools, teaching things that matter: Class struggle, love, sensuality and reproduction, rational knowledge in an atmosphere that promotes critique and freedom. All of that is illegal in California right now.

Meanwhile, AFL-CIO leaders cavort and bicker at the pricey Miami Fountainbleau Hotel

David Berliner has a new piece out, Poverty and Potential: Out-of-School Factors and School Success,
demonstrating once again Jean Anyon’s thesis: Doing school reform without social and economic reform is like washing the air on one side of a screen door. It won’t work.

For those who enjoy irony, here is General Motors, long the siren of Buy American, demanding a bailout, from Europe.

What happened to the capitalist economy anyway? Here are two quick insights, this one from old Marx himself: For Marx, there was never any doubt about the root cause of capitalist economic crises:

The ultimate reason for all real crises always remains the poverty and restricted consumption of the masses as opposed to the drive of capitalist production to develop the productive forces as though only the absolute consuming power of society constituted their limit.

Here is an extension from John B. Foster, author of the recently released, Great Financial Crisis, responding to an inquiry:

No I am not equating stagnation, stagflation, and overproduction. though they overlap. Stagnation, i.e. slow growth, rising unemployment/underemployment, high excess capacity, etc. reemerged in the 1970s. Initially, there was a period of stagflation (stagnation plus inflation). The inflationary part was brought under control but not the underlying stagnation, which continued. Under monopoly capital (or monopoly-finance capital) actual overproduction is not the dominant tendency since the demand shortfalls show up in overcapacity rather than overproduction. Corporations cut back on output pretty quickly and lower their capacity utilization (fully competitive capitalism didn’t work this way). You could say, though, that it is a case of implicit overproduction, so there is no real contradiction. Of course a build up of productive capacity, which is increasingly underutilized, fits just as well with Marx’s statement, ‘the real barrier of capitalist production is capital itself,’ which you quote.

All of which adds up to why you should book now to join us at the Rouge Forum Conference, May 15 to 17 in Ypsilanti! Keynotes: Staughton Lynd, Greg Queen, Rebecca Martusewicz .

All the best, r

Thanks to Gil, Bob, Susan and Susan, George and fam, Paul and Mary, Cindy, Amber, Della, Evan and Ethel, Tony H, Suber, Beau, Kelly, Jan, Dionne, Sandy and Sally, Shea, Holly, Peter M, Tom H, Cassie, Jean and Ken and fam, Jim the 3rd, Travis, Dan H, Gina, Sharon Ag, Carol Panetta, and Bobby.

Rouge Forum Update: Staughton Lynd confirmed as Rouge Forum Conference keynoter

Dear Friends,

Great news! Staughton Lynd (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Staughton_Lynd) has agreed to be a keynote speaker at the Rouge Forum Conference in Ypsilanti, Michigan, May 15 to 17:
Next week, more good news on the keynote topic.

Kathy Emery, expert on the Freedom Schools and, with Susan Ohanian, author of Why Is Corporate America Bashing Our Public Schools?, will be presenting in Los Angeles at the UTLA Human Rights Conference, 3303 Wilshire Blvd, March 27 and 28.

You can find a review at Book TV on CSPAN of Jeff Perry’s new book Hubert Harrison, The Voice of Harlem Radicalism.

Ravi Kumar has a fine interview with Peter Mclaren linked to Radical Notes online.

Resistance to inequality and injustice grows each week. From February 18th to 20th, NYU students occupied a building. They were removed and subsequently expelled. Each struggle brings its own lesson on how to better prepare. Details are here.

There is a lengthy struggle, a strike and civil uprising on Martinique.

A bus strike may lead to a general strike in Ireland.

Two big Marches in March. Most of the anti-war movement will be on the streets on March 21 to condemn the invasion of Iraq (next week a report on the decisions made by the Historians Against the War regarding Afghanistan and other imperial adventures). And there is a call nationwide to March Forth on March 4th, against the homophobia inherent in the vote on California’s Prop 8.

Tougher News: George Soros agrees the sky is falling.

While the auto bailout/UAW sellout amounts to what looks to be the coming end of auto-worker health benefits.

Joel Kovel was fired at Bard. You can review the background and offer help here.

Thanks to Bonnie M, Paul, Joe B and C, Adam, Amber, Candace, Sally, Julie, Jill, Sandy, Laurel, EWR, Ravi, Don A, Ginger H, Kim B, Perry and Steve, Shelly, Kelly, Gina, Ludden, Carlson, Riley, Tommie, Bob, Dave and Sharon, Elaine H, Penny Brown, Sue, Greg and Katie, Bill B, Kevin, Paul and Mary.

All the best,
r

Rouge Forum Update: Educators vs Bankster, Justice vs War and more…..

Dear Friends,

The Rouge Forum No Blood For Oil page is updated. That’s also the place where you’ll find the call for proposals for the Rouge Forum Conference, May 15 to 17, at Eastern Michigan University.

The deadline for articles for the Rouge Forum News is March 1. Schools, k through universities, face massive cuts. What’s going on in your area? Send articles, cartoons, photos, etc to Adam Renner: arenner@bellarmine.edu

Spread the word. NO CONCESSIONS. Concessions are like giving blood to sharks. It only makes bosses want more (look at the United Auto Workers). Not one step back. In fact, we want MORE. We know the bosses are weak. We want a shorter work week with no cut in pay. No Layoffs. Add another shift, cut class size. No evictions. Free health care for all. Tax the rich. Free wireless everywhere. Stop high stakes exams. Recruiters off the campuses. Academic freedom for students and teachers. (and you can make up some of your own, I am sure).

Take a look at the Rouge Forum blog and join in the discussion. If we can get that going, we can demonstrate the collective nature of our problems, which have few if any individual solutions, and share information about what people are doing.

Who will get what in the “what about ME?” scramble for bailout money this time? Much of that will be set up by who paid who what. Last time the Tarp recipients spent $144 million on lobbyists. Send a check when you write congress or Obama.

The Iraq war is far from over; war in Afghanistan is expanding. The anti-war movement is split, never met the potential represented by the mass outpouring of opposition to the Iraq invasion. Still, it appears that the biggest anti-war actions will be on March 21, the sixth anniversary of the invasion (really 3/19), in cities all over the US. Here is Tom Ricks, “The Iraq war is not over,” although corporate media still cannot spell O-I-L.

Juan Cole believes Obama may have to delay his Afghan surge as the US supply routes are cut

Resistance rises world wide, if we in the US do not see a lot of it. The French general strike most recently demonstrated that students and school workers can indeed initiate and lead struggle for social justice. Here is an update from Italy.

The UTLA test boycott is still on. Let’s spread this idea and expand it to ALL the high-stakes exams. Friends in Fresno are preparing to make presentations to their school board for just that purpose.

Gilbert Gonzalez is working on a video on the Bracero Program. He’d like some help. This is a teaser video.

Here is an opportunity to make some international connections:

American Councils for Education: Seeking Fellowship Placements
The American Councils for Education, in association with the U.S. Department of State, is seeking to place five young professionals in non-governmental internships across the country during the fall 2009 intern season (September-December).? Prospective interns will be arriving in the United States in mid-August under the auspices of the federally funded Legislative Education and Practice program (LEAP) and will be ready to report to work in early September. LEAP Fellows are dedicated public servants between 23 and 33 years of age from Georgia, Russia, Ukraine, and Turkey. They are college -educated (many have advanced degrees in law or international studies), speak fluent English, have had previous U.S.-based experience, and are eager to learn how Americans address rule of law, civil society, work in advocacy, infrastructure, energy, human rights, and related topics, so that they may better their own societies. Interns will be available to work a full-time schedule and will be fully supported by American Councils and the U.S. Department of States in terms of compensation, health insurance, etc. To learn more, please contact RaeJean Stokes at 202-833-7522 or via email at: leap@americancouncils.org

Thanks to Joe B and C, Amber, Donna, Sharyn, Erin, B and N, Bob, Susan O and H, Gene, Patrick, Harold, Bonnie, Kathy, Angie, Ravi, Bill, A and G, Karen C, Willie Himebaugh, Chuck R, Tom T, and Wayne.

Down the banks and
Up the Rebels.

best

Rouge Forum Update

Dear Friends,

February 12th is Charles Darwin’s 200th birthday. Sounds like a good day to remind people about evolution, dialectics, and leaps of change! Have a party! Happy Happy Merry Merry–Charles!

A reminder: set aside May 14th to 17th for the Rouge Forum Conference at Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti, just minutes from the Detroit Airport. Here is the conference information and call for proposals: http://www.rougeforumconference.org

United Teachers of LA called for a test boycott, perhaps the first large school worker union to do so.

Though the boycott is limited to what many RF activists feel is second-tier testing, the idea could well spread. Messages of support can go to the UTLA leadership at here.

In France, a general strike was kicked off by teachers and students, proving once again our long held thesis that school workers and students are well positioned to initiate, if not fully carry through, action for social justice.

From the EdNotes blog, a video the United Federation of Teachers (NYC) would prefer that we not see (scroll down a bit).

Colleague Chalmers Johson, author of the Nemisis trilogy, weighs in with “The Looming Crisis at the Pentagon.”

We all noticed that Exxon recorded the highest profits ever and military contractors expect no layoffs whatsoever. War, in many instances, means work.

Bill Zucker sets up a shout, “I want some Tarp!”

Those who wonder what their NEA union leaders and staff are paid can check EIA, a right-libertarian site, here (there are instructions on how to check on the LMR 2). Note that NEA past president Reg Weaver took home $554,524 and he probably was able to live on his expense account.

The Rouge Forum blog is up and running; you are welcome to chime in!

Thanks to Eric, Kev, Wayne, Bob, Amber, Tom, Perry, Angie, Stella, O, Donnie A, Jim B, Peter M, Hannah, Beau, Dave, Tommie, Sandy, and Sherry.

All the best, r

Rouge Forum 2008 – Conference update & more

Dear Friends,

An up front reminder on the Rouge Forum Conference, May 14 to 17, in Ypsilanti Michigan. Proposals due very soon.
http://www.rougeforumconference.org

Centered in the key organizing point of North American life, the Rouge Forum represents the only voice of the left, recognizing that at the core of our many crises, economic collapse to perpetual war and all in between, lies the system of capital. This conference represents a gathering of people who have learned that friendship can arch over political differences. Come join us!

From Monthly Review, here is one of the better economic analyses of why things are as they are in the growing depression.

This is the conclusion: “In this sense we are clearly at a global turning point, where the world will perhaps finally be ready to take the step, as Keynes also envisioned, of repudiating an alienated moral code of “fair is foul and foul is fair” used to justify the greed and exploitation necessary for the accumulation of capital turning it inside-out to create a more rational social order. 49 To do this, though, it is necessary for the population to seize control of their political economy, replacing the present system of capitalism with something amounting to a real political and economic democracy; what the present rulers of the world fear and decry most as “socialism.” 50”

What is missing from the analysis is the dual role of war. It was war that ended the last depression, not Keynesian hyper-spending, and it is also imperialist war that lies, in part, at the base of the current deepening collapse.

And from YouTube, here is Noam Chomsky on the election, capitalist democracy (those who spend most, win, among other things) and what is next (part one of three).

The take on election results from the Daily Show

Michael Klare hoping for the unlikely event; that Obama will abolish the Carter Doctrine on Mideast Oil.

Reminder of the March on the Pentagon on the anniversary of the Iraq invasion, March 21, Washington DC.

Short update this week, but plenty of reading.

Thanks to Amber, Tom, Bob, Adam and Gina, Karl, Dave, Glenn, Candy, Sharon A, Lucy, Michael, Dell, Mary, Chris, Ruthann, Paul, Zoey, Carl G, Sandy, Van, and Tina.

best
r

Rouge Forum Update

Dear Friends,

Happy New Year!

An up front reminder: The Rouge Forum Conference is May 14 to 17, 2009, in Ypsilanti, Michigan, near Detroit. The call for proposals is here: http://web.mac.com/wayne.ross/Rouge_Forum_Conference_2009/Welcome.html

The deadline is February 15 for proposals. Why come?

What’s our current context? A stock market collapse. Massive racist unemployment nearly redoubling each month. Hundreds of thousands of foreclosures and evictions. Police terror (the Oakland murder the most recent example) and immigration raids. Calls for more taxes and cuts in public services met by bankster bailouts in the trillions. Declared US wars in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iraq; undeclared wars in Gaza via Israeli proxies, Colombia, and cold wars growing with Russia and China–much of that revolving around oil. In schools all over the world: regimentation of the curricula to promote nationalism, high-stakes exams eradicating freedom, and militarization.

How can this be described as other than class war, an international war of the rich on the poor?

Now comes Obama promising Hope! and Change!

Probably not. His appointees alone say otherwise, all of them beholden to nearly the same oil bosses, war-makers, and financiers who propelled Clinton and Bush. Arne Duncan, education czar, promises privatized charter schools and merit pay—more of the same, faster.

The last 40 years demonstrate the primary role of capitalist democracy, which Obama personifies: An executive committee of the rich where they iron out differences, then allow us to choose which of them will oppress us best–and their armed weapon. Currently, the main result of Obama’s demagoguery is to resurrect forms of nationalism that were becoming exposed by the Bush regimes’ harsh tactics. Now we get the velvet glove over the iron fist, Obamagogue.

Only the Rouge Forum, which includes many voices, has had room for this kind of analysis in the US. We’ve combined this reasoned critique with action: test boycotts, strikes, and backing for resisters. Our publications circulate world-wide. In addition, we created a community of thinking people who can join together in friendly debate, overcoming isolation.

Hope and change rest not in seeking some politician to save us, but through building a mass class conscious base of people willing to fight back, to sacrifice to rearrange the social relations that allow the few to rule the many through ruses like nationalism, racism, sexism, and religious irrationality. Absent that goal, all struggle is mere tactics, lurching from opposing one unrelated form of oppression to the next, never getting to the root of things.

The union executives are no help. Already they prepare to offer concessions (concessions don’t save jobs, they only make employers want more), and to attack other sectors of workers not paying them dues (the California Teachers Association supports a regressive sales tax hike to pay for schooling) and to consolidate their power (NEA President Dennis Van Roekel seeks, again, to merge NEA with the AFL-CIO, SEIU’s Andy Stern moving to take control of the AFL and Change to Win, etc). The very structures of unions divide people by job, race, industry. NEA and AFT spent millions of dollars and thousands of volunteer hours to elect Obama who demonstrated open contempt for educators throughout his campaign. With school workers the most unionized people in the US, the unions are unprepared to resist the attacks on every facet of education ahead.

That’s why it’s important to come to the Rouge Forum Conference and offer your own leadership to a movement for Equality and Freedom in schools and out. The them of the conference, Education, Empire, Economy and Ethics at the Crossroads, offers a wide field for discussion and presentations.

You can add your own voice, right now, to the Rouge Forum blog established by Community Coordinator Adam Renner at
http://www.therougeforum.blogspot.com/

The Rouge Forum News deadline is February 15. Send articles, cartoons, art, etc., to Adam Renner (arenner@bellarmine.edu)

Thanks to Katy and Greg, Kerry, Mary, Paul, Gina and Adam, Amber, Wayne, Tommie, Donavan, Sally, Lisa, Sharon A. David, Marty, Gil G, Perry, Marc, Kevin, Shelly, Chris, Candace, Lacy, Anne, Donna, Alan S, Sherry, Tally A, Kim, Sue, Laura C, Lynn S, Stephanie, Colleen, Kelly, and Sarah.

All the best in the New Year,

Down the banks and
Up the Rebels!

It’s time to restart the Rouge Forum News; it’s time for our 13th edition!

The economy continues its descent. Runaway capitalism slides off its rails. The results of deregulation rear their hyrdra-like head(s). The Bush tax cuts illustrate what applying leeches to a patient who is bleeding to death must feel like. The numbers can no longer be faked, massaged, or hidden. CEOs are given a free pass while blue collar workers must fight (sit-in, resist, etc.) for their lives. And, the blowing embers of neoliberalism might (finally) begin to flicker away. Needless to say, we are faced with a financial crisis we have not seen for some time. Few groups/publications have had the courage to maintain their voice, keeping the critique of capitalism in the forefront of the struggle (even when the markets would suggest otherwise).

Alongside folks at the Monthly Review, the International Socialist Review, and a few alternative news sites, educators in the Rouge Forum have also continued to keep their voices strong, consistently providing links between runaway capital, the rabid and rapid standardization of curriculum, the co-optation of our unions, the militarization of our youth, and the creep of irrationalism in our schools.

The Rouge Forum has been attempting to spearhead a mass movement of conscious educators, parents, and students toward connecting reason with power. Despite the overwhelming power of the opposition, the Rouge Forum, like only a few others, has chosen to continue to struggle–by meeting, by writing, by organizing, by sharing the struggle. Toward this end, and in order to try to make better sense of how we arrived at this economic moment, the Rouge Forum is reinstating the RF News in 2009.

We’d like our first edition back (our 13th overall) to focus on the financial crisis: histories, analyses, commentaries on the economic state of the union/world.

We are interested in work from academics, parents, teachers, and students: teachers at all levels, students in ANY grade, parents of children of any age.

Something small, something big, something serious. We want to publish YOUR story in our next issue. It is the stories we get from people like you that make the RF News what it is. If you have a story to share, but would like to protect your identity, use a pen name. Pen names are welcome!

We NEED Art! Songs! Poems! Editorial cartoons! Links to online videos or other material! Perhaps you are better at expressing yourself with art or poetry. Send it in!

We are looking for narratives as well as research and the interplay between research and practice which focus on our current economic meltdown. If you have a story to tell, some research to share, a book to review, we’d love to see it (and share it).

We publish material from k-12 students, parents, teachers, academics, and community people struggling for equality and democracy in schools — writing (intended to inform/educate, or stories from your classroom, etc.), art, cartoons, photos, poetry. You can submit material for the RF News via email (text attachment, if possible) to our Rouge Forum community organizer, Adam Renner: arenner@bellarmine.edu. PLEASE SUBMIT BY FEBRUARY 15, 2009.

Rouge Forum Update

Happy Happy and Merry Merry!

There are hopeful signs for the year ahead.

Greece (thanks to our friend VK): http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2008/12/2008_greek_riots.html
(Similar actions took place in France at the same time. In Greece, workers seized their union offices, arguing the offices belong to the workers, not the union bosses).

The New School: http://www.newschoolinexile.com/

Chicago: http://www.rabble.ca/rabbletv/program-guide/best-net/workers-republic-scenes-successful-factory-occupation

The Rouge Forum Conference in May:http://www.rougeforumconference.org/ (send your proposals) http://www.rougeforumconference.org/

The Rouge Forum Blogspot: http://therougeforum.blogspot.com/

The Rouge Forum News (send your articles, poems, art, cartoons, and good ideas to Adam Renner at arenner@bellarmine.edu

The New Improved Shoe Game for snow-ins: http://www.aksalser.com/game.htm

For those with longer memories, three more of the Grenada 17, jailed in a 17th century prison since 1983 for crimes they did not commit, were released last week, leaving seven in jail today: http://www.counterpunch.org/gibson06052004.html

Thanks to Wayne, Amber, Adam, VK, Beau, Erin, Gil G, Patrick, Susan O and H, Joe L, Steve, Curry, Perry, Sandy, David H–both–Sally, Sharon A., Mary and Paul, Tally A, Dana, Katie and Greg, Karen K, David S, Bill, MrJ, George S, Donavan, Tommie and Bob, Glenn R, Michael, Kevin, Tony, Marc, Sherry, Mandy, Kim, Matthew, Zoe, Linda, Jim and Gordon, Llona, Lisa, Bertell, Joe B, and C., VP, Nancy, Mike A, Kino, Stephanie, Bonnie, Ann D-H, Chris, Candace, Norma, and to all those who helped build a class conscious social movement for freedom and equality.

We are saddened to note the death of a friend, Joe Kincheloe (1950-2008).

Down the banks and
Up the Rebels!

All the best,

Rouge Forum Update

Dear Friends,

The call for proposals for the Rouge Forum Conference, “Education, Empire, Economy & Ethics at a Crossroads,
May 14-17, 2009, at Eastern Michigan University, is linked here: http://www.rougeforumconference.org/. Proposals are due February 1.

In addition, following on our recent Rouge Forum Steering Committee decisions, here is a note from our Curricula Committee Coordinator, Doug Selwyn:

“Even in these dark and educationally repressive, testing driven times, there are educators doing extraordinary work in helping their students to understand what is really going on in their world, and helping them to come into the knowledge and power that enables them to act. The Rouge Forum invites you to share what you are doing so the rest of us can learn from you, on behalf of our students. We are asking for your most successful and useful lessons, units, methodologies, resources, and anything else that might help us to be more effective in our efforts to help our students to truly understand why things are the way they are, and to develop the knowledge, skills, and strategies for acting effectively to bring change.

We will do three things with what you send us. First, we will share some of the lessons, via Rich’s updates, on a monthly basis. Second, we will be organizing them into what we hope we will become a published anthology. Third, we will make all of the materials available, on line, at some site to be determined.

Also send a wish list of topics, issues, and themes you want to get ideas, resources, and lessons about, which might encourage a more focused response to this call.

We know that we are largely on our own when we work to carry out real education with our kids. It’s not going to come from those in power (who want to stay there), from textbook companies (who want their profits), or from the majority of your colleagues. It’s up to us. Send your lessons, ideas, resources, and “wish list” to Doug Selwyn (doug.selwyn@plattsburgh.edu).
http://richgibson.com/educationcurricular.html

With 1.2 million people losing jobs this year so far and what are likely to be massive education cuts on the near horizon, we need to project what impact Obama will have on schools and society. He promises tax cuts, massive spending projects, and wider warfare in Afghanistan. We know our union leaders are unprepared. Indeed, the AFT leadership promises to support Obama’s plans to expand merit pay. Which way for education activists, and others?

The debate is framed well in three responses that detail radical and liberal approaches for the near future. Here is one by Steve Strauss and one posted by Susan Ohanian on her website: “Optimism and Obamagogue”.

And another, “The Third Clinton Administration,” by Ralph Nader .

Thanks to Adam and Gina, Greg and Katy, Amber, Joe(s), Bill (s), Wayne, Perry, Marc, Preston, Shelly, Tally, Candace, Tommie and Bob, Craig, Doug, Bonnie, Kathy K, Henry, Joshua, Weird Eric and Dirty Edd, Suzanne, VP, PM, Dave H, Glenn, Anil, and Ravi.

All the best, r

Call for Proposals: Rouge Forum Conference 2009

Rouge Forum Conference 2009

CALL FOR PROPOSALS

Education, Empire, Economy & Ethics at a Crossroads

Eastern Michigan University
Ypsilanti, MI

May 14-17, 2009

The theme for the 2009 Rouge Forum Conference is: “Education, Empire, Economy & Ethics at a Crossroads: What Do We Need to Know and How Can We Come to Know It?”

Bringing together academic presentations and performances (from some of the most prominent voices for democratic, critical, and/or revolutionary pedagogy), panel discussions, community-building, and cultural events, this action-oriented conference will center on questions such as:

✴What is the nature of the crossroads, where do the different paths lead, what are our choices and how do we implement them?

✴What does education for liberation look like compared to education for empire? Class struggle?

✴Are we at a turning point in history? Has the rightward shift stopped or will the economic crisis push the ruling class towards fascism?

✴What are the implications of 2008 election ballot initiatives?

✴How do education, empire, economy, ethics, and democracy intersect in classrooms and schools?

✴How do we learn and teach to get from where we are to where we need to be?

✴How can we educate to liberate ourselves from the impact of empire? OR, How are we teaching to push back the imperializing of our classrooms?

✴How do we stand up for the correctness of our ideas?

✴How does change happen (individually, within a school, within a district)?

✴What support, what conditions facilitate teachers being willing to take the step towards correct action?

To learn more about the conference, please contact any of our conference organizers:

Joe Bishop (joe.bishop@emich.edu)
Greg Queen (rumbagarden@ameritech.net)
Adam Renner (arenner@bellarmine.edu)
Wayne Ross (wayne.ross@ubc.ca)
Rich Gibson (rgibson@pipeline.com)

Submissions:

Review of Paper Proposals treating any of the above questions will begin 1 February 2009. Please send a 250-500 word proposal to Joe Bishop (joe.bishop@emich.edu), describing your work/project/manuscript, how it connects to one of the conference questions, and what participants might take away from attending your session. Classroom teachers and students are strongly encouraged to send their proposals.

Performance Proposals should also be forwarded to Joe Bishop (joe.bishop@emich.edu) by December 15, 2008. Please describe your art/performance and how it may relate to the conference topic/questions.