*UPDATE 4/25: EAG released a second video on “Gender-Bender” day at the school.
Chicago public school Jones College Prep apparently believes school is the appropriate venue to train students in nonviolent protesting:
Philip Jackson was brought in to lead the training and provide students with specific ideas like “building a cemetery with the names of dead students” on the school grounds:
Jackson strongly encouraged the students to develop forms of non-violent protest. “I’m not telling you to do it, but if you were going to,” he said, leading the proverbial horse to the water.
“I’m just saying,” he said on several occasions.
Jackson then offered the idea of creating a symbolic graveyard on the school lawn of headstones featuring the names of Chicago residents killed with guns.
The comments came as part of a session during the school’s Social Justice Week. Jones College Prep brought in community organizers from the Black Star project to train specially selected students in the political action.
During a discussion about the right to own a gun, a student who expressed her approval was met had the following exchange with Camille Williams of Peace in the Hood:
Williams: Right now in Springfield, they are moving to pass conceal and carry so that everybody can carry guns. Are you all in agreement with that?
Student: Um…I am because I think if you take away guns from regular citizens, the criminals and the police are the only ones who have them, so…
Williams: did you look at this?
[At that point, she held up a list to young people who have been killed with guns.]
Student: Yes, ma’am, I did.
Williams: How many of these kids on here are able to carry a gun?
Student: None of them.
Williams: And they are the leading targets.
Are public schools an appropriate venue for training children in the arts of nonviolent protesting?
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Comments
1. I think, as a matter of principle, it is fine to teach high school kids to protest non-violently
2. I think it is WRONG to indoctrinate them about what they should be protesting
I agree……my first thought was, “Hmmmm. Take that ‘student cemetery’ idea and turn it on its head.”
As in: make a headstone for every African-American child (18 and under) who was KILLED by an African-American (of any age). The “non-violent protest” sign/banner could read, “Why?! When will it end?!” Or, “Why are we killing each other?!” or maybe, “Where is the outrage?!”
It would also be helpful if there was a big chart of those killed by guns, knives, drug-related crimes, fighting/gang activity, etc. (There would be some overlap, of course.) Also – they could have stats on how many were murders or “manslaughter” vs. “just” injuries.
And – they could also have some info. on how many are UNSOLVED or resulted in (perhaps multiple) African-American(s) (male & female) etc. GOING TO JAIL. Maybe even take on that “jail time for African-Americans is RAAAACISM” meme.
This could also, of course, be done for Hispanic-on-Hispanic crime, white-on-white crime, Asian-on-Asian crimes…..you get the idea.
That is a GOOD use of “non-violent” protest, IMHO.
And, if it is student-initiated, it will be supported, right? RIGHT?!
Yeah, sure…..kinda like that student who said they supported owning a gun…….. /sarc
Apparently, some disagree.
Which I find odd.
Would anyone here hesitate to take their kid or grandkid to a TEA Party rally?
I don’t want kids coming up to be dutiful, pliant little serfs. I want them to be critical thinkers who WILL protest what is wrong.
I agree with this: “I don’t want kids coming up to be dutiful, pliant little serfs. I want them to be critical thinkers who WILL protest what is wrong.”
I don’t agree that it is the job of the school system to indoctrinate them with ‘suggestions’ of things to do in protest.
Then we entirely agree. That’s what I thought I said in my first comment.
Some of us, at that early age, had a knack for being wrong about what was wrong…just sayin’
Sounds liike the school is named after a fool named Van.
Just a liberal arts college prep course.
This is what Barack Obama did as a community organizer back in the day, isn’t it?
Ah Chicago, still a mess despite Obama’s community organizing.
I’m sort of giggling here because that student is smarter than Camille Williams. Just saying how ironic is that?
Did I detect a tone of racism here?
sarc/off
Of course. Goes without saying. Don’t even have to ask the question anymore.
I gotsa ta ax ya .. “And it was like, the judge was like, Okay”
Say what ? Teachers using the vernacular (50 cent word I learned watching “The Three Stooges”) ?
i would settle for math and english competancy
“`building a cemetary with the names of dead students` on the school grounds:”
If they actually spelled it “cemetary,” this is a delicious “irony” that illustrates well the failure of a state educational system (in case the substance of the article itself weren’t enough).
“`I’m just saying,` he said on several occasions.”
I’m probably one of the more neurotic people you’ll meet, but this phrase is prominent among my list of pet peeves. If there were degrees of uselessness in cognitively meaningful statements, I would rank this among the “most meaningless.” What does this nonsense truly mean?
Yes -the “just sayin’ ‘ thing is creeping in .
Either one is making a statement or one is not. ‘Saying’ is morphing into “misspoke’ territory -where Hillary hid behind everyday mumbo jumbo.
Ask is that a statement ? – or just mumbo jumbo.
“i would settle for math and english competancy”
One sentence, three errors. This must be the common parlance of either “irony” or “hypocrisy,” or both.
Who is paying for this school and how? Grade schools should teach students to read and write as well as the basic facts of science, math, humanities and civics. It’s not school’s job (unless we are talking about a private school) to tell children which position to take on the 2nd Amendment and how.
Towards the end of the 1800’s Europe had some political unrest, particularly what is now Germany. Socialist academics were forced to flee, and many of them came to the United States. Academics, and education, have been dominated by socialist and leftist and progressives since then. The only cause to take note is that usually they are more subversive and not so overt. But then, they are bold and overt with gay issues, so this shouldn’t be too much of a surprise.
Jones College Prep is a select enrollment (test-in) public high school, an elite high school. It is one of the most popular high schools in the city. Jones was named one of “America’s Best High Schools” for 2010 by Newsweek magazine, ranking 6th in Illinois, 4th in Chicago and top 100 schools in the US in 2010.
This is painful.
It is apparently fine to display the hypocrisy of the Obamadministration, but when someone critical of it commits an even more blatant hypocrisy, a comment critical of it is given thumbs-down in the extreme.
Noted.