Occupy Activists, Moved or Not by Secondary Teachers

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

Kaynakça

1. Campbell, E. R. A. (2011). A critique of the occupy movement from a black occupier. The Black Scholar, 41(4), 42-51.
2. Creswell, J. W. (1998). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five traditions. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
3. DeLeon, A. (2008). Oh no, not the “A” word Proposing an “anarchism” for education. Educational Studies, 44(2), 122-141.
4. Haworth, R. H. (Ed.). (2012). Anarchist pedagogies: Collective actions, theories, and critical reflections on education. Oakland, CA: PM Press.
5. Howard, G. (2006). We can’t teach what we don’t know: White teachers, multicultural schools (2nd Ed.). New York: Teachers College Press.
6. McIntosh, P. (1990). White privilege: Unpacking the invisible knapsack. Independent School, 49(2), 31-35.
7. Moynihan, C. (2012, September 17). 185 arrested on Occupy Wall St. anniversary. New York Times. Retrieved from http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/17/protests-near-stock-exchange- on-occupy-wall-st-anniversary/.
8. Occupy the Hood NY. (2013). Facebook. Retrieved May 19, 2013 from https://www.facebook.com/pages/Occupy-the-Hood-NY/150194611743082.

9. Occupy Wall Street NYC General Assembly. (2012). Groups. Retrieved November 25, 2012 from http://www.nycga.net/groups/.
10. Suissa, J. (2006). Anarchism and education: A philosophical perspective. New York, NY: Routledge.
11. Tatum, B. D. (2003). Why are all the black kids sitting together in the cafeteria? (2nd Ed.). New York: Basic Books.
12. Zinn, H. (1990). A people’s history of the United States. New York: Harper Perennial.