8 Making Good Trouble: Advocacy and Activism

Across the United States there is a push to restrict public schools. This restriction is prevalent through the gatekeeping of knowledge and the limitations of information access such as evidenced by efforts to challenge or ban books and by limiting what teachers can speak about in the classroom or how they speak about specific topics. This restriction is also a physical restriction as schools employ barriers literally limiting access to the school as a response to external threats of school violence that occur across the country such as school shootings.

In an effort to respond to restrictions through censorship and access on schools and the mitigating events, both teachers and students have embraced activism. This activism ranges from individual efforts illustrated by activities such as speaking out at a school board meeting, to larger collective activism such as organized movements designed by grassroots initiatives (e.g.  March For Our Lives) or driven by teacher’s unions. There is also an interesting dichotomy between the measured and calculated responses driven by organizations like unions and the more passionate and spontaneous actions by students primarily in the Generation Z and Alpha populations.

This chapter will explore several key examples of the restriction or “hardening” of schools including physically as a reaction to school violence, the restriction of literature in classrooms and libraries through both challenging of books and book bans, restriction of knowledge through items such as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, and other examples on restricting intellectual freedom such as through the district/state-wide adoption of scripted curriculum thus diminishing the role of the educator. Included in each investigation is a discussion of how critical theorists would respond, an illustration of activism through documentation of a case study responding to the issue, and an investigation activity to engage you in exploring current issues and responses.

Teacher and Student Activism in Moments of History in the United States

There is a long history of activism in relation to educational settings and in response to educational policies. Perhaps some of the most well-known examples that you are familiar with include names such as Ruby Bridges, Kent State, Columbia, and East L.A.

One of the oldest and largest student protests in the United States was in 1925 at Fisk University in response to an overreaching campus president. This protest gained significant momentum and attention in large part due to the involvement of W.E.B. Du Bois (his daughter was a graduating senior that year). In this case, the campus had cut extracurricular activities, required all remaining activities to have a faculty chaperone, eliminated the student paper, and put in place a very strict dress code for the female students.  The college administration responded to the peaceful protest by the Black students by calling in an all-white police force to come and stifle the protests. Public opinion sided with the students and the college president resigned.

Jumping forward in time to 1960 is another notable moment regarding student activism. Ruby Bridges was just a six-year-old child when she was thrust into the spotlight of activism in response to Brown v. Board of Education and the Civil Rights Movement. She was one of a small group of students to leave their segregated schools and attend a previously all white school. Her enrollment at the school marked a significant moment in the fight against racial segregation in schools. The now iconic image of her walking the steps to the school escorted by U.S. Marshals represents a turning point in the United States. While she did not set out to lead a movement, her participation fueled further activism and progress.  She faced enormous opposition from white supremacists and segregationists in angry mobs protesting her attendance. Ruby displayed immense resilience and bravery by walking past the crowd and entering the school. Ruby Bridges serves as a powerful reminder that student activism can be a catalyst for change. Despite her young age, she showed the world that individuals, regardless of their size or age, can have a significant impact on social and political issues.

Another key moment in history for student activists that was also captured by photo was the May 4th, 1970 Kent State protest that ended tragically in the shooting and killing of four Kent State students and wounding of nine other students by members of the Ohio National Guard. The Kent State students were protesting the Vietnam war when the shooting occurred (although not all the students killed were active participants). This event sparked student protests nationwide. Students walked out of hundreds of colleges, universities, and even high schools in support of the Kent State students in a massive strike across the country. While this protest was not about educational policy, it did mark a significant event in student activism during this time period. The Kent State massacre was a pivotal moment in American history, symbolizing the severe consequences of political unrest and the clash between student activism and authority. The event underscores the importance of peaceful protest, the protection of civil liberties, and the need for effective dialogue between protestors and authorities to prevent such tragedies from occurring again.

Multiple student protests were documented at Columbia University in the 1960s, but perhaps one of the most famous is the 1968 take over by students of the administrative offices in part in response to university involvement in Department of Defense initiatives to support the Vietnam War and student demands for educational justice. This outrage on campus was largely fueled by reactions to a controversial university policy. The protests began in April 1968 when a group called the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) initiated a demonstration against the university’s plans to construct a gymnasium in Morningside Park, which was seen as an act of gentrification (when a poor urban area is impacted by wealthier people that both improve the neighborhood, but also displace the previous residents and create a situation where they can no longer afford to live there) that would further marginalize the local community.

As the protests at Columbia intensified, students occupied several buildings on campus, including Hamilton Hall, which housed the administration offices. The event was documented in The Strawberry Statement, a nonfiction book by James Simon Kunen that documented firsthand his experience during this student takeover. The occupation lasted several days during which negotiations took place between the student activists and the administration. The legacy of the Columbia protests can be seen in the lasting impact they had on university governance, student activism, and the concept of educational justice. The events served as a catalyst for ongoing discussions about the role of universities in society, the relationship between academia and activism, and the importance of student voices in shaping educational institutions.

Around the same time in 1968, the East Los Angeles student walkouts occurred where thousands of Mexican American high school students walked out of school in L.A. to protest the inequity in the public schooling system. The East L.A. walkout, also known as “The Chicano Blowouts” were a series of protests organized by students to demand educational equality and an end to systemic discrimination in the public school system. At the time, the educational experiences of students in East L.A. were characterized by inequality, racial segregation, and cultural marginalization. Students faced overcrowded classrooms, outdated textbooks, low expectations by administration, and a lack of access to college preparatory courses. Additionally, the curriculum often ignored or misrepresented Mexican American history and culture. These protests were in part sparked by teacher Sal Castro, a Mexican American history teacher that invited students to have pride in their culture and question the quality of education they received. These students first approached administration and when shut down, the larger movement took off. The impact of the East L.A. walkouts extended beyond the local community. The protests inspired and influenced other student movements throughout the country, leading to similar demonstrations and demands for educational equity among marginalized communities.

Each of these examples of student activism occurred in a time when the United States was on the cusp of change. Students recognized inequity and they responded to efforts to silence. There were many protests across the country at the time in a wave of activism. While activism is almost always at play somewhere in the country, there are times when it swells as a response. During the 1980s, there were swells in response to bilingual education and equity, and the 1990s saw activism to address issues such as racial inequality and disparities in educational opportunities. In the 1990s, activism emerged to support LGBTQ students and efforts to establish gay-straight alliances (GSAs). When looking at educational activism in more recent years, we can see other large swells that we will explore later in this chapter.

Activism is a tool in the arsenal for students and teachers alike to respond to injustices, restrictions, and other problematic educational policies enacted. This activism may not be as dramatic as a walkout by students and may be quieter, such as through letters to our representatives, or wearing Red for Education on Fridays (a union-led initiative). In more recent years, this activism often takes the form of rallies at state education buildings, or the signing of web-based petitions. It manifests in the publication of white papers (a researched based paper focused on a single issue or problem), and with a contemporary shift even takes the form of a meme or social media-based call to action. We will explore some contemporary approaches to activism with the key issues to follow.

As you read, think about where you might fit into each issue. Where do you stand? How might you respond with action?

Scripted Curriculum and Hyper-Standardization: Neoliberal Overreach into Education

In 1983, Ronald Regan’s administration commissioned a report titled A Nation at Risk and with it an assault on public education began, which has  been written about in more detail in earlier chapters of this book. This report blamed faltering economic conditions on American education. As a result, a series of educational laws were enacted aimed at improving schools. Following presidential administrations continued this work of a policy shift under a rebranding of each iteration with the same effect – blaming public education for the faults of the country. Included in this sequence of reform through politics was the Goals 2000 Education Act in 1994 signed into law by Bill Clinton that introduced the idea of standards-based education with a focus on measurable outcomes followed by No Child Left Behind (NCLB) in 2001 signed by George W. Bush. The focus on NCLB was to continue standardization efforts by linking federal dollars to demands to create annual assessments and public reporting of school success. With NCLB, schools now had to document that they made Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) with a focus on reading and math. This resulted in designations such as “schools in need of improvement” and consequences for repeated offenders that could include school takeovers through a process known as receivership. These efforts highlighted the inequities in our schools and predictably those schools with the least resources suffered the most. Often, the school takeover is managed by a for profit charter school.

NCLB was just the beginning of presidential education initiatives. Race to the Top (RttT) was put in place by President Obama and overseen by Secretary of Education Arne Duncan in 2009. Whereas NCLB asked states to establish their own standards, RttT aimed to develop one set of standards to be implemented across the country named The Common Core State Standards (CCSS). Once again, the education initiative was tied to federal dollars and states that did not adopt this initiative lost federal funding opportunities. As a result, 46 states and the District of Columbia signed onto the initiative. Prior to this endeavor, curriculum “had been adopted through often vigorous debate and compromise between citizens of states and their elected officials. In this brave new world, however, curriculum and its attendant assessments are purchased from private corporate entities” (Bloom, 2015, p. 5). States such as New York adopted complete modules of scripted instruction which school administrators purchased to help ensure teachers would be successful on the accompanying annual standardized assessments if instructed with “fidelity”, meaning that there are no deviations from the script. To accompany this shift in education, schools evaluated teachers based  on student success on the standardized exams under an evaluation system known as Annual Professional Performance Review (APPR). In 2015, the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) was signed and included only superficial changes to the reauthorization of previous initiatives.

This shift in educational policy tied to funding and hyper-standardization led to backlash across the country. Prepackaged scripted curriculum does not take into consideration the community of learners in a particular classroom in a particular environmental context. It does not recognize the variety of learners and presents materials in a rigid and formulaic approach designed to benefit the private company profits rather than the creative minds of youth and teachers ready to respond in the moment. It does not allow for the differentiation (instruction and assessment of students based on their individual learning needs), that strong educators know they must bring in order to meet the needs of particular students. When coupled with high stakes standardized tests, it lends itself to a climate of fear and classrooms divorced from a lived reality responsive to the immediate events lived by students. As noted by Giroux and Schmidt (2004), “under such conditions, teachers are excluded from designing their own lesson plans…worksheets become a substitute for critical teaching and rote memorization takes the place of in depth thinking” (222). This limited intellectual risk taking, led to declines in teacher education program enrollment, and shifted attitudes of preservice teachers by limiting their agency and creativity (Bloom & VanSlyke-Briggs, 2019).

As a result of the growing concern for high-stakes testing across the country, multiple grassroots actions began to emerge. Parents began to “opt out” and remove their students from the testing population for exams such as the grades three through eight math and English standardized exams. Parent and educator partnership groups for activism formed across the country including New York State Allies for Public Education (NYSAPE) and smaller regional groups including examples such as Oneonta Area for Public Education (OAPE). More notably though was the development of the Badass Teachers Association (BATs), which quickly grew to over 52,000 members in 2013.

BATs was (and still is, although they are less active today) committed to contesting negative reform initiatives and provided “a counter narrative, based on strong scholarship as well as experience that warned that reform policies are likely to widen educational disparities rooted in race and class and weaken the nation’s schools by driving out the most committed teachers” (Naison, 2014, p. 51). The organization, and others like it, grew so quickly in large part due to the use of social media and calls to action that were straightforward and included short commitments. While critics such as Malcolm Gladwell point out that social media platforms are based on “weak ties,” there can be strength in numbers in weak ties within social networks as pointed out by Granovetter (1973). Sharing across wider acquaintances allows for a quicker spread and the opportunity for someone who would not otherwise engage to now have an opportunity to connect (VanSlyke-Briggs, 2015). The smart mob, or the collection of individuals acting in concert for a common goal, develops into a “mobile tribe” (Rhinegold, 2003, p. 17).  BATs created a hierarchy of leadership to manage calls to action and utilized social media to promote offline actions. They partnered with regional groups across the country and held letter writing campaigns, rallies, published media releases to gain even more national attention and capitalized on “the ethical spectacle” (Duncombe 2007) in which they used popular culture for the purposes of furthering an activist agenda. They made excellent use of memes and trending as a successful strategy to make content shareable and clickable. These calls to action contained a sense of urgency, purpose, and personal benefit. They knew that they needed to move beyond a keyboard or run the risk of developing “slacktivism” responses where individuals feel that just clicking like is participating in change.

As a result of this grassroots activism, BATs and other related organizations brought attention to the damaging policies impacting public education. Across the country, voices responded and change began to slowly develop. There was turn over in educational leadership at both state and national levels, some states began to retreat from use of the Common Core State Standards and states like New York rebranded them and brought teachers in for conversations about changes. Other changes like restricting the selling of student data to private organizations were curtailed (at least in New York State) and teacher evaluation systems were reexamined. But as Mark Naison, one of the founders of BATs states, the battle will never be over, “this will require constant mobilization, creative organizing, and the multiplication of individual acts of courage and resistance” (2014 p. 92).

Challenging Literature and Curriculum: Limiting Information Access for Students

While challenges to literature or book bans in schools are not new phenomenon, in recent years the issue has become a national fight to protect one’s right to literature, especially literature representing diverse voices. In large part, this trend to restrict access to literature has developed out of conservative agendas to limit literature in large bundles as opposed to the typical one book, one school example of challenges that were previously more common.

The national trend of challenges or bans on literature in public schools is often linked to the discussions surrounding Critical Race Theory (CRT). CRT is an academic framework that examines how race and racism intersect with various social and institutional structures, such as law, education, and politics. It is typically a concept reserved for instruction in graduate school work such as in law schools. It seeks to analyze how historical and systemic racism continues to impact individuals and communities today. The opposition to CRT and the push to challenge or ban literature in schools are often intertwined. Some individuals and groups, such as Florida based Moms for Liberty, argue that CRT promotes divisive ideologies, fosters a negative view of America, and perpetuates a victimhood narrative. They believe that the teaching of CRT in schools leads to the demonization of certain racial or ethnic groups and undermines the principles of equality and unity. Parent led groups like Moms for Liberty, pressure districts to remove books often without ever even having read them. It is important to note that CRT is rarely ever employed in a public school setting.

Bans against literature in schools and libraries have increased nationally since 2021 (Mazzei, Harris, & Alter, 2023). States such as Florida have moved beyond conservative parent groups to state legislation that limits what can appear in a classroom. Three new state laws were passed in 2022 in Florida that restrict access to literature and violators can be charged with a third-degree felony. These laws went into effect in January of 2022 and caused educators across the state to pull books from shelves. Florida is second only to Texas as the state with the highest number of banned or challenged books (Meehan and Friedman, 2023) according to PEN America, an organization that advocates for freedom of expression and the protection of writers and journalists. Other states with high rates of book banning include Missouri, Utah, and South Carolina.

One book banning that received national attention occurred in 2022 in Tennessee. In this case, the McMinn County School Board voted to remove Maus, a graphic memoir by Art Spiegelman about the Holocaust from the eighth-grade curriculum. Community residents and students protested the removal of the book and even called upon the author to speak to the defense of the text. In the minutes from the school board meeting, board members acknowledge that they had not even read the book. Ostensibly, the banning was due to a scene in which the mother commits suicide and language use such as in one instance where the word “bitch” is used. In response, books stores and individuals from around the country donated copies of the book to those who wanted them.

In an interesting reaction to nationwide bans, Illinois has become the first state anti-book banning legislation by tying library funding to access of materials. In June of 2023, the governor of Illinois signed legislation that protects public schools and libraries. The law withholds library funding from institutions that do not adopt the American Library Association Bill of Rights or a similar self-designed policy that protects materials in the collection. It also seeks to protect institutions in their efforts to add additional materials to the collection by prohibiting external influences. This is an important step in attempting to protect public institutions from private manipulation. This is especially important given data presented by the American Library Association for 2022. In 2022, the ALA recorded the highest number of book bans since it began collecting annual data twenty years prior. The number of challenged and banned book titles was nearly double that of 2021 (American Library Association, 2022).

Students need access to diverse literature. They need to see themselves represented in text and they need to be exposed to complicated moments in history in order to learn how to better their future worlds. As Maxine Greene (1988) notes, students “need to be empowered to reflect on and talk about what happened in its varying connections with other events in the present as well as in the past. And they may be brought to find out that a range of informed viewpoints may be just as important when it comes to understanding” ( p. 127). We do an injustice to our students by hiding away aspects of our past that are unsavory or that do not represent particular populations positively.

In 2022, the Florida legislature led by their governor approved a law that aims to do just that. The “Stop WOKE Act” bans curriculum and instruction in public schools that identifies people as being privileged or oppressed based on race. As a result, the Florida Education Department determined that an AP African American Studies course developed by the College Board “lacked educational value” and will no longer be available to Florida students. In response, the College Board released an updated curriculum that stripped some key authors and concepts from inclusion and listed others as “optional.” Florida’s aim here was to present a single side to history, a side that rejects any negative views and sanitizes our history. It shuts down any contradictory voices and by limiting the authors that students can interact with, this legislation denies what Bakhtin (1981) calls “dialogism” or “heteroglossia” in which a literary text can be seen as a space where multiple voices and perspectives can be heard and interact. Students need to hear these multiple voices. As noted by Greene (1988), “when people cannot name alternatives, imagine a better state of things, share with others a project of change, they are likely to remain anchored or submerged, even as they proudly assert their autonomy” ( p. 9). Students need to see our past for what it was in order to imagine better futures. We need to refrain from silencing those voices that speak to the realities of our past; because by continuing to do so, we only continue to marginalize and oppress. Educators must advocate for an education that encourages students to think critically, reflect on their experiences, and develop a sense of agency to challenge social inequalities.

In response to Florida’s wave of oppressive legislation, teen activists organized. Walkout 2 Learn (https://www.walkout2learn.org/ ) developed a day of action utilizing several key lessons learned from previous activist movements. They kept the agenda simple and direct, but also layered. It asked students to walk out at a specific time on a specific day, it asked them to pledge to vote to defend student rights, and listen to a short banned history lesson from a peer. In order to prepare for the day, the organization asked for student leaders to volunteer to be trained and deliver the short lectures. As a follow up, students were also invited to enroll in a virtual college level African American history course that would award them a certificate at completion. Students across the state of Florida (from more than 300 schools) signed up to participate in the action.

Another example that has gained traction across several states in the nation is efforts to deny students from learning any information regarding LGBTQ peoples. Once again, Florida emerged as a frontrunner in this effort to censor discussion on gender and sexuality. In 2022, Florida passed the controversial “Parental Rights in Education” bill known popularly as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill. This law limited the ability for school educators to discuss sexual orientation and gender identity. Prior to grade three it is completely prohibited and post grade three discussion must be “age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards.” The vague language utilized here crafts situations in which educators can be challenged at any point due to concerns about who determines what is “age appropriate.” Violations could mean suspensions for teachers or even a revoked teaching license. In efforts to inform teachers of their right and the risks aligned with this law, the National Education Association (NEA), which is a teacher labor union, released the “Know Your Rights: A Back to School Guide” guide for teacher members https://www.nea.org/nea-today/all-news-articles/know-your-rights-back-school-guide.

Following on the heels of Florida’s example, by April of 2022 more than a dozen additional states proposed “Don’t Say Gay” legislation including Alabama, Ohio, Louisiana and Texas. While there is a variety to the approaches by each state, the basic premise is the limitation or prohibition of schools from teaching or discussing topics of gender identity or sexual orientation. This goes beyond direct classroom instruction and could even include for instance a banning of GSA (Gay Straight Alliance) clubs or other student clubs that are purposely designed to be inclusive for LBTQ students. These efforts to curtail conversation are rooted in exclusionary ideologies and it silences students. As Girox (1992) notes, “equally important is the need to provide safe spaces for students to critically engage teachers, other students, as well as the limits of their own positions as border-crossers who do not have to put their identity on trial each time they address social and political issues” (p. 33). Legislation such as “Don’t Say Gay” do the exact opposite of what Giroux suggests. It fosters a hostile environment where students do not feel safe or comfortable sharing details about themselves or their families. It will foster an environment that will breed hate and intolerance.

Perhaps the youngest example of student activism occurred as a response to this national trend to silence discussion of gender identity and sexuality in schools. Generation Alpha students, students born after 2010, responded in an action known as the IPS walkout. These young 4th and 5th grade students walked out of school in protest in March of 2023 to bring attention to Indiana’s version of this bill and was organized by three 5th grade students. While only 100 young students joined this particular walkout, it did gain national attention and paralleled other school walkouts across the country (including Florida) where thousands of students walked out to bring attention to the issue.

Hardening our Schools and Our Children
Responding to Gun Violence

Gun violence in schools in the United States has become such a common occurrence that a shooting no longer holds the same shock value when reported by the media. While previous shootings had occurred in schools, perhaps the one which people most think of when reflecting back to one of the first is the Columbine shooting in 1999. And while gun violence as a mass shooting event in schools only accounts for a small portion of overall firearm deaths that occur a year, it is one of the most senseless and tragic. In the years since Columbine, the rate of these incidences has increased dramatically.

School shootings are what author Keel (2021) identifies as a “wicked problem” and one that is multidimensional and complex. “Wicked problem” is a concept coined by planning theorists Horst Rittel and Melvin Webber in the 1970s. This concept  refers to complex social or policy issues that are difficult to define, have multiple interrelated causes and consequences, involve numerous stakeholders with diverse perspectives, and lack clear solutions. In order to attempt solving one aspect of the problem, one must consider other interrelated aspects that cannot be separated from the issue. With school shootings, one cannot just examine the incident and the particular shooter, but must consider other aspects such as mental health services, access to firearms, a culture that celebrates violence, and other social impacts. There is no straightforward solution to the issue. The causes and motivations behind such acts vary, making it challenging to predict and prevent them with absolute certainty. Furthermore, the effectiveness of different interventions and policies is often debatable, contributing to the uncertainty surrounding this issue.

Americans are all too familiar with these names: Sandy Hook, Parkland, Uvalde, Oxford. It is difficult to even add current statistics as the number grows outdated so quickly. For an updated total on this unique American epidemic, refer to a database that is consistently updated such as the K-12 School Shooting Database (https://k12ssdb.org/) maintained by The Violence Project, a nonprofit and nonpartisan research center, or consider the Center for Homeland Defense and Security (CHDS) School Shooting Safety Compendium (https://www.chds.us/sssc/) which tracks multiple sources including not just statistics, but also recent publications for the purposes of assisting officials and researchers. According to the Education Week School Shooting Tracker (https://www.edweek.org/leadership/school-shootings-this-year-how-many-and-where/2023/01) as of June 15th, 2023 there have been 23 school shootings with injuries and/or death. The Violence Project, which has a wider description of what counts as a school shooting incident, cites 184 incidents in 2023 (and this is only from January to June, so the second half of the school year). The k-12 School Shooting database indicates that as of May 2024 there were 344 shootings so far in the year. This database “documents when a gun is fired, brandished, or bullet hits school property” (p. 1).

The issue of school violence is wrapped up alongside cultural challenges such as attitudes about guns, toxic masculinity, ostracism, and mental health. These interwoven aspects also connect to other linked concerns such as online intimidation and social antagonism (e.g. cyberbullying). As a result of this violence nationwide, schools and policy makers responded by “hardening” our schools. This hardening refers to changes such as limiting access to the school, gates, closed foyers with double lock doors, buzzing in systems, metal detectors, shatterproof glass windows and doors or “bulletproof” glass, and other physical barriers to limit the ability to enter a school. It may also include procedures such as requiring visitors to sign in or show an identification such as scanning a state issued license to enter or requiring that visitors be walked to the destination location. In many cases it has led to the addition of security cameras and the presence of additional school resources officers during the school day. This hardening has led to a capitalization of school violence and a multi-billion dollar industry aimed at protecting schools and making money from tragedy, what author Matthews (2019) calls macabre money (p. 89). This includes everything from bullet resistant partitions for classrooms, to prevention training experts hired to set up school response drills for lockdown and active shooter drills.

Other program responses include less costly or even free resources such as those provided by Sandy Hook Promise, a national nonprofit organization that emerged as a response after the 2012 Newtown, Connecticut shooting in an elementary school. Sandy Hook Promise has multiple programs including their Start with Hello program to minimize social isolation, cultivate empathy in schools, and create a more inclusive culture. They also have the Say Something anonymous reporting system, and a Know the Signs prevention program to educate students and adults. These programs aim to be proactive rather than reactive and all begin with students as empowered.

Reactions to school violence include active shooter or lockdown training such as one widely used program, ALICE (Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate), which has a steep training cost. The FBI has additional training models such as the Run.Hide.Fight model that has gained popularity (to review a short video on this method visit https://youtu.be/TeOdxKozra0 ). While these trainings do vary in cost, there is also a human cost associated with them. Both the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) and the National Education Association (NEA) have released statements about the personal trauma for students experiencing drills and have released guidance in a joint white paper on how to minimize any potential emotional or mental impact. This guidance includes always announcing a drill both to students and notifying families, having faculty and staff on alert to recognize traumatic stress reactions, and allowing students to opt out.

There is a familiar cadence to school shootings. After a shooting, the media cycle begins. News coverage is dedicated to the incident, public interest grows, perhaps some activism is sparked, the media attention wanes and with it, the momentum to enact change. Occasionally, there is a wave of additional violence that feeds from the initial occurrence that will lengthen the cycle but eventually national attention fades. With some shootings, spontaneous protests may extend the discussion in the media longer or grassroots organizations with more longevity manifest with a stronger commitment to change fuels some national conversation.

After the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida, students responded almost immediately by organizing. This group of dedicated students organized the March for our Lives (https://marchforourlives.com/) protest that has since grown into a movement. Teaming up with Everytown for Gun Safety this student-led group marched on Washington, D.C. in 2018 calling for gun control legislation. This group was joined by other more local gatherings across the United States in support (estimates around 800). The long-lasting organization that emerged after this initial wave of action is still active today as a student-led political action group that advocates for gun legislation. They held a second march in Washington, D.C. in 2022, have held countless meetings with legislators, and have crafted some creative visual responses in protest such as installing 150+ body bags on the National Mall reading out the now familiar slogan, “thoughts and prayers,” a common platitude said by many post mass shooting. In addition to direct protest and political action such as meetings with legislators, this group has crafted a policy agenda to shape action.

After the 2023 Covenant Elementary School shooting in Tennessee, thousands of students took to action across the state. While some of the students walked out of classes in smaller local protests, Everytown for Gun Safety also helped coordinate action through Students Demand Action (https://studentsdemandaction.org/). In addition to the protest at the Tennessee State Capital, there were “sibling” protests at locations across the United States which prompted some legislators to get involved and speak out (which resulted in a vote for expulsion that was later overturned with a reinstatement).

Despite vocal calls for action, the United States has made little ground nationally to curtail gun violence in schools. This is a uniquely American problem. In contrast, in the UK for instance, there has only ever been one mass school shooting. Thisoccurred in 1996 in Dunblane, Scotland where an adult shooter killed 16 children and one teacher before killing himself. The government took immediate action as a result of this rampage shooting through a series of two firearms acts.

In addition to calls for action regarding gun restrictions, others have called for a return to a community school approach in which schools are responsive to local neighborhood needs rather than restrict access to school via a hardening. This way, schools work together with the community stakeholders establishing additional resources such as feeding programs, health services, mental health services, literacy programs for adults and other response based programming. This can include early intervention, restorative justice efforts, building empathy, and even outreach services.

Teacher Unions: A Long History of Advocacy and Activism

Teacher unions have played a significant role in shaping education policies and protecting teachers in the United States. The two major teacher unions in the country are the National Education Association (NEA) and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT). In addition to these larger umbrella organizations, each school district that participates with  a union will have a local union chapter.

The NEA originally began in 1857 as the National Teachers Association (NTA), but in 1870 it merged with the National Association of School Superintendents and the American Normal School Association to form the National Education Association. Initially, the NTA focused on professional development, curriculum standardization, and teacher training. It also advocated for public education and the establishment of state departments of education. Throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the NEA lobbied for educational reforms, including increased funding, compulsory attendance laws, and standardized testing. In the 1960s, the NEA became more involved in political activities, pushing for social justice, racial equality, and educational equity. Over time, the NEA came to become the largest labor union in the United States. Current membership according to the NEA is around three million members.

The AFT was founded in Chicago with just eight members in 1916. One of the AFT’s early successes was its involvement in the Chicago Teachers’ Federation strike in 1919, which led to improved salaries and working conditions for teachers. In the 1960s and 1970s, the AFT gained prominence under the leadership of Albert Shanker. Shanker advocated for teacher rights, collective bargaining, and increased teacher involvement in decision-making processes. Even today, the name Shanker is recognized as a force in education. Through the Albert Shanker grant program, New York State teachers may  get assistance in paying for National Board for Professional Teaching Standards  (NBPTS) certification – an excellent way for teachers to be recognized for excellence in the field and, for many, a way to increase their salary (to learn more about this program visit https://www.nysed.gov/postsecondary-services/albert-shanker-grant-program). The AFT has been actively involved in political advocacy, endorsing political candidates and promoting education policies that align with its members’ interests. The AFT also commits itself as a champion of educational equity by fighting for increased funding for disadvantaged schools and advocating for the rights of special education students. Currently, membership as reported by the AFT is around 1.7 million members.

While the NEA and AFT have different historical origins and organizational structures, both unions have worked towards similar goals, such as improving teacher working conditions, advocating for educational reforms, and ensuring quality education for all students. They have had a significant influence on education policies at the national, state, and local levels, and continue to be influential voices in education debates and discussions.

In 2018, unions faced a Supreme Court decision that changed interactions between employees and the unions making membership optional. The Janus v. AFSCME (American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees) ruling determined that union dues must now be optional. Previously, union membership dues were collected of all employees in union schools as a way to fund collective bargaining activities given the understanding that all employees would benefit from the success of collective bargaining and stronger contracts.

Teaching unions fight for much more than just fair contracts and good working conditions. They also take on advocacy roles on issues that impact the life of educators. Recent advocacy efforts include protecting the rights for intellectual freedom in the classroom and protecting teachers in the face of censorship and literature bans. The AFT and the NEA have been vocal in opposing anti-diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) bills, which seek to restrict or prohibit teaching. In addition to releasing statements about the need to protect teachers and quality education for all, the organizations have also mobilized members to seek change. One tool for doing this is through simple uses of social media including Twitter postings by AFT and the current President of the AFT, Randi Weingarten. Other areas of advocacy have included speaking out against the overuse of standardized testing, support of community schools, and calls to defeat “Don’t Say Gay” bills (for a comprehensive list of resolutions visit https://www.aft.org/about/resolutions). The NEA has a similar history of advocacy and their resolutions are centered around ten goal areas (https://www.aft.org/about/resolutions). Resolutions in each organization can be proposed by the membership.

Unfortunately, not all states embrace unions within their school districts and many are what are known as “right to work” actively working against union activity. Teachers in these states do not benefit from union protections or collective bargaining agreements. In addition, many of these same states have restrictions on tenure. Tenure is a safeguard that protects teachers from unfair termination. It guarantees a teacher a hearing in most cases and in cases where positions are being eliminated it gives them first hiring back to a school when a position reopens. In addition, it provides some protections to teachers that speak out about injustices or poor practices at the school. The union at the local district negotiates tenure protections for the faculty through collective bargaining. Four states (Florida, Kansas, North Carolina, and Wisconsin) have essentially eliminated tenure for teachers and the District of Columbia and North Dakota do not have policies addressing tenure, which leaves the decision of tenure up to the individual districts. (To learn more about what states have tenure policies and the length of time before granting tenure visit https://teachertenure.procon.org/length-of-time-before-tenure-kicks-in-state-by-state/).

When new teachers are hired in a district they should consider the benefits of joining the union as well as how they can get involved. The first step is to become a member of the union. Teachers can sign up for membership by contacting the local or state chapter of the AFT or NEA. Membership typically involves paying dues, which contribute to the union’s activities and support services for teachers. This will usually be an option during the hiring process, but it should be noted that teachers can join at any time. Once a member, teachers can regularly attend union meetings as a great way to stay informed about union activities, discussions, and decisions. It also provides an opportunity to network with fellow educators and contribute to the union’s work. Many unions have building representatives who act as liaisons between the union and teachers in individual schools or districts. Teachers can volunteer to become building representatives and help to communicate union information, collect feedback from colleagues, and address concerns within their school community. Unions also often have committees and workgroups focused on specific issues, such as curriculum development, negotiations, professional development, or diversity committees. Teachers can volunteer to join these committees and contribute their expertise and perspectives to the union’s initiatives.

Unions engage in political advocacy to influence education policies and support legislation that aligns with their goals. Teachers can participate in lobbying efforts, campaigns, or voter registration drives organized by the union to make their voices heard on critical issues affecting education. After participating as a member, teachers may also consider contributing to the union by serving in a leadership position. Running for these positions allows teachers to play a more active role in decision-making, policy formulation, and representing their colleagues’ interests both locally and beyond.

Rewarding and Challenging

Working in education can be a very rewarding career option for those with the skill and temperament for the field. It can also be a very challenging career and is one that is constantly evolving, which is often in the public eye  concerning political and social issues.  Teaching is by necessity, a political act according to Freire (1973). From this perspective, all teaching is political and is never a neutral act (Freire, 1973). What we choose to teach can reinforce or challenge hegemonic discourse, can spark social imagination in our students, and can help foster more inclusive environments where all people are valued. How we choose to teach can change how students process the world around them and can invite them to question in meaningful ways. Teachers are able to empower students, help them develop agency and voice, and encourage them to respond when they see injustice in the world. Teachers can also be overtly political in our roles as advocates and through activism both, when appropriate, within our school walls and on our campuses as well as outside the classroom as we challenge policy that impacts our work. Most importantly, teachers can advocate collectively. They do not need to do this work alone and can fight for our students and our work with other like-minded, vision building, and passionate allies.

Discussion Questions

1. How have restrictions on public schools, both physically and intellectually, impacted the educational environment in the United States?
2. How does activism serve as a response to injustices, restrictions, and problematic educational policies in schools? In what ways can activism bring about change?
3. What role can educators play in creating empowering school environments amidst national issues and trends such as censorship, limited information access, and the hardening of schools? How can teachers support students in becoming engaged and invested in their educational experiences?
4. How does the idea of “hardening” schools as a response to school violence intersect with broader social issues such as systemic inequalities, power dynamics, and marginalization? What potential implications and unintended consequences might arise from this approach?
5. Imagine yourself as an educator faced with challenges related to censorship, restricted access to information, or standardized curriculum. What actions would you take to advocate for change and create an empowering learning environment?

Glossary

Activism – The policy or action of using vigorous campaigning to bring about political or social change. The excerpt discusses different examples of teacher and student activism in response to educational policies and issues.

Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) – The measure used under No Child Left Behind to determine if schools and districts were successfully educating their students. Schools had to meet AYP goals or face consequences.

Bilingual education – Teaching students in two languages, often their native language and English.

Censorship – The suppression or prohibition of any parts of books, films, news, etc. that are considered obscene, politically unacceptable, or a threat to security. The excerpt mentions censorship in schools through book banning and restricting what teachers can discuss.

Critical theory – A social philosophy oriented toward critiquing and changing society as a whole. The excerpt states it will discuss how critical theorists would respond to school restrictions.

Critical Race Theory (CRT) – An academic framework analyzing how systemic racism continues to impact society.

Collective bargaining – Negotiation process between union representatives and employers to determine contracts. Strengthened by unions.

Dialogism – A concept from Mikhail Bakhtin referring to the interaction of different voices and perspectives within a text.

Differentiation – instruction and assessment of students based on their individual learning needs.

Gay-straight alliance (GSA) – Student organizations found in some high schools to promote gender and sexuality acceptance.

Generation Z – The generation born between 1997 and 2012. The excerpt contrasts Generation Z activism with other age groups.

Hegemonic discourse – The dominant cultural beliefs and narratives that reinforce existing power structures. Teachers can choose to reinforce or challenge this through their instruction.

Heteroglossia – Bakhtin’s term meaning the diversity of voices, styles, and viewpoints within a text or society.

Intellectual freedom – The right to seek, receive, and express information and ideas freely. The excerpt suggests limits to intellectual freedom in schools by controlling curriculum.

Lobbying – Trying to influence legislators on policies. Unions engage members in lobbying for education.

Neoliberalism – A political approach favoring free market capitalism, deregulation, and reduction of government spending.

Receivership – A process where chronically underperforming schools are placed into receivership, leading to state takeover and restructuring.

Right to work laws – State laws restricting union membership and weakening collective bargaining rights

Scripted curriculum – Pre-developed lesson plans and materials that teachers are required to use. The excerpt suggests scripted curriculum diminishes teachers’ roles.

Tenure – Policy granting qualified teachers protection from unfair dismissal after a probation period. Weakened in some states.

Figures

Ruby Bridges by Natalie Frank is shared with a Creative Commons Attribution License

Henry Giroux by Natalie Frank is shared with a Creative Commons Attribution License

Mikhail Bakhtin by Natalie Frank is shared with a Creative Commons Attribution License

Protest by Natalie Frank is shared with a Creative Commons Attribution License

References

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