Northeastern Illinois University’s Department of Educational Inquiry & Curriculum Studies is sponsoring a screening of “Education, Inc.” and panel discussion on Oct. 5. This will be the documentary’s debut screening in Illinois.
Following the film, retired University of Illinois at Chicago College of Education Professor Bill Ayers will moderate a discussion with a panel that includes an individual involved in the recent Dyett High School hunger strike in Chicago.
Filmmaker Brian Malone’s documentary looks at the privatization of public education in Chicago and nationwide. The documentary is particularly timely after a group of Southeast Side residents conducted a 34-day hunger strike to pressure Chicago Public Schools into reopening Dyett. The strikers were successful in getting the school reopened, but they continued their strike until Sept. 20 seeking further demands.
The post-film discussion will serve as an opportunity to examine how privatization is affecting diverse communities throughout the country, from affluent white suburbs in Colorado to historically African-American communities in urban Chicago.
The confirmed panelists for the Oct. 5 screening and panel discussion are:
- Oscar Ramirez, student, co-moderator
- Ann Aviles de Bradley, assistant professor, Northeastern Department of Educational Inquiry & Curriculum Studies
- Carolina Gaete, co-director of Blocks Together and political refugee from Chile
- Madeline Kobayashi (M.S.I. ’14 Secondary Education: English), Golden Apple Award winner and teacher at Senn High School
- Prudence Browne, Teachers for Social Justice, Dyett High School hunger striker
Ayers’ articles have appeared in the Harvard Educational Review, the Journal of Teacher Education, Teachers College Record, the New York Times and many other publications. His books include “Public Enemy: Confessions of an American Dissident,” “To Teach: The Journey in Comics” and “Race Course: Against White Supremacy.”
Aviles de Bradley will sign copies of her book, “From Charity to Equity: Race, Homelessness and Urban Schools,” and Ayers will sign copies of his books “Teaching the Taboo” and “To Teach” after the event.
The screening, which is free and open to the public, will take place from 4:15 to 7 p.m. in Alumni Hall at 3701 W. Bryn Mawr Ave.
