Occupy Activists, Moved or Not by Secondary Teachers

Year 2014, Volume: 10 Issue: 1, 6 - 17, 01.04.2014

Mark Abendroth

Abstract

This article explores whether and how activists who identify with the Occupy movement think of their secondary schooling as influential upon their activism. Testimonies of six activists from two small focus groups reveal a range from those who claimed no such influence to those who saw a significant connection. The diversity among the six was limited: five were male; two identified themselves as mixed-race, and the other four as white; three were younger than twenty-seven. Each individual’s account of various influences other than education was unique. When the topic turned to secondary education, though, there were intensified expressions from sadness to anger to irony to delight among the participants. As the findings of this study show, formal education has hindrances and possibilities in fostering change agency for social justice. Increasing the possibilities is the work of critical educators

Keywords

Occupy movement, Secondary schooling, Testimonies, Critical educators

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