Issue 388 - September 2008

Peacework Magazine September 2008

Taking Our Activism to School

  • Mahmoud Darwish
  • Caucasus Burning
  • Anti-Torture Testimony
  • Campaign for Civics


In This Issue

Olivia Kirby, Wellete Ransy, and Tonya Brown listen to the "senior speech" being given by a classmate at the Codman Academy Charter School in Boston, MA. The speeches are part of Codman Academy's graduation requirement that seniors must stand in front of

The country must change the conversation from passing tests to teaching and learning.

Peace Rally at PS 191/Hudson Honors Middle School, New York City. Photo: Peace Games (www.peacegames.org)
In order to fix our schools, we all need to start taking responsibility for the racism, poverty, and violence that are what's really undercutting them.
From the Editor's Desk
New Life for High School Civics: Youth Organizers Campaign Successfully for Better Classes

"We set up meetings with people we felt like were allies, and invited them to our hearing. It's hard to say no to a group of kids wanting to learn, wanting to make a difference."

Focusing on the Children: Early Childhood Programs in Conflicts Around the World (review)The effects conflict has on children and families are common around the world, as are the key challenges for early educators working amidst the conflicts.
Homeschooling Leaves Home: A Resource Center for Teens Who Choose to Leave SchoolBut doesn't homeschooling mean parents teaching their own kids at home? What does a center like this have to do with homeschooling?
Countering Military Recruitment in SchoolsAfter a long campaign, the San Francisco School Board finally voted in 2006 to phase out JROTC from the district.
Caucasus BurningWhen President George W. Bush stood on Freedom Square in Tbilisi in May 2005 and told Georgians, "The path of freedom you have chosen is not easy, but you will not travel it alone," they believed it meant something.
A People and a Poet: The Voice of Mahmoud DarwishIn the absence of home, Darwish turned language into a spacious tent -- for us and for all who needed a home.
Well Beyond Abu Ghraib: Expert Testimony on the Effects of US Torture PolicyAs of 2006 there had been more than 330 cases in which US military and civilian personnel were credibly alleged to have abused or killed detainees.
New York Yearly Meeting of Friends: A Minute on Torture
A Maine Activist Walks in Solidarity with the Undocumented
First Anniversary of the US Social Forum
Human Rights Workers Sail Jubilantly into Gaza
Bits & Peaces

Events, Gatherings, Resources, Campaigns, & Opportunities