PIE Special Advisor Nate Mullen supporting the Visionary Organizing for Education Justice network gathering.
Last month, PIE participated in the long anticipated, 21st Allied Media Conference (AMC). And we are still swooning over the profound connections we made with people in education from across the globe. Like so many 2020 gatherings, AMC was virtual this year and admission was available at no cost. This changed the accessibility and security practices of the conference, but it also created space for dozens more session participants than PIE has ever seen at AMC.
GATHERING FOR EDUCATION JUSTICE
“I thought I was already fighting for language justice in my classroom. But I’m realizing I have a long way to go with that.”
We were honored to join the Visionary Organizing for Education Justice network gathering, including helping to co-facilitate a discussion on school abolition. Over the three-day gathering, we connected with over 100 conference goers, listening and sharing our work of humanizing learning.
We are grateful to Julia Cuneo, Matt Homrich-Knieling, Savannah Gale, Kaitlin Popielarz and N’Kenge Robertson for organizing the gathering space. We were in awe of the dynamic speakers, including David Stovall and Bettina Love -- it was great to see them again after Free Minds Free People last year. They were joined by Dr. Aja Reynolds from Wayne State University who reminded us how the dehumanizing conditions in schools affect not only youth, but teachers and other adults in and adjacent to schools.
And we joined many others in being transformed by Dr. April Baker Bell’s presentation on racial and linguistic justice. One attendee commented, “I thought I was already fighting for language justice in my classroom. But I’m realizing I have a long way to go.” Sharing space - albeit virtual - with educators of all stripes can show us so much about ourselves.
TOWARD SCHOOL ABOLITION
On Saturday, after the network gathering, we co-facilitated a conversation with Detroit Area Youth Uniting Michigan (DAYUM). The session was called New Approaches to School Abolition, and Nate opened by reminding us that humanizing learning will not happen quickly, and is worth the journey.
“This is a journey - urgency is what gets in the way of us doing this work effectively.”
- Nate Mullen, PIE Special Advisor
Next up was Dr. David Stovall, who introduced the concept of school abolition as a tool for prioritizing youth- and human-centered learning.
Dr. David Stovall during the New Approaches to School Abolition session
“Schooling is the orderly compliance that you are falsely rewarded for. The logics of the school are the logics of the prison. Are we prepared to abolish school as a concept that is rooted in the marginalization of youth?”
And the varied experiences of DAYUM youth contextualized school abolition. Brooke Solomon echoed much of what PIE Teaching Artist Cyrah Dardas expressed in her interview about centering youth voice.
“A world of school abolition looks like actually being able to be a kid […] School abolition is centered around the distinction between school and education. ”
Brooke spoke about being seen as a model student by educators and administrators because of her leadership and good grades -- that is until she became a DAYUM activist for school and education reform. Then, her school leadership began to target her with criticism and sometimes punishment, revealing to her the punitive practices that permeate many schools:
In school, there's always a target on your back because school is prison.
- Brooke Solomon, DAYUM youth
And when asked what a world of school abolition would look like, DAYUM youth Jaanaki Radhakrishnan said it plain: “actually being able to be a kid.”
PLANTING AND HARVESTING
As we look back on this year’s AMC, we are so grateful for these guiding questions and how they framed our week and weekend. We sowed seeds of relationship and connection with educators from all over at the Visionary Organizing for Education Justice network gathering. And simultaneously, we harvested the fruit of relationships we’ve built over the years with DAYUM and session organizers.
And we were affirmed by the beautiful offerings throughout the conference, showing us that the answer to Stovall’s question is yes.
He asked, Are we prepared to abolish school as a concept that is rooted in the marginalization of youth?
Yes, we are all bringing the future through by the planting and harvesting we do every day -- on the micro and macro levels -- to humanize education. Thank you for sharing space with us at AMC 2020. We can’t wait for 2022!