See Something, Say Something
By: Ryan Duncan
We've been following the Occupy Wall Street protests around the country and the world, and are inspired by the passion and bravery of these Americans who have seen injustice and decided to stand up and do something about it. So often, we are accustomed to just go along with whatever is the status quo, we feel the problems are too big and complex for us to be able to truly fix or change in any way. But as we saw with Rosa Parks, sometimes all it takes is for one person, or a small group of people, to stand up and refuse to accept an injustice they see, to start a movement that can really change the world.
In this week's video post, we have a sub-group of the Occupy Wall Street protesters turning their attention to school reform and education. The group is called, Occupy the DOE and they are protesting against the Panel for Education Policy (or PEP), which enacts policy for the New York City Dept. of Education. The PEP replaced the Board of Education when Mayor Bloomberg took control of the schools in 2002. It is intended to be a democratic forum where people voice concerns, prior to the panel's vote on educational policy. However, due to special interests and lobbyists, most decisions are made prior to any votes occur. This is not a democracy. And these people, teachers, and parents have had enough and are saying something about. We challenge everyone out there, that if you see something, say something!
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