In New York City, more than 100 students, teachers and educational activists occupied the city’s Board of Education meeting Tuesday night to protest the city’s education policies, including budget cutbacks, layoffs, large class sizes and an overemphasis on standardized testing. After New York City School Chancellor Dennis Walcott and school board members fled the meeting, an impromptu people’s “general assembly” was held. Speakers included an eight-year-old student named Indigo.
Indigo, eight-year-old student: “Mic check. I’m Indigo, and I am an eight-year-old third grader, and I’m sad Ms. Cunningham is doing work for free. I don’t think it’s fair that teachers are getting laid off. The thing that would help me learn more would be if we had smaller classes. My teacher, Ms. Lamar, has to shout to be heard. We also need more support for teachers. At the beginning of the year, we had 32 children.”
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