Volume 11, No.4

The Human Lives Behind the Labels

The Global Sweatshop, Nike, and the race to the bottom

By Bill Bigelow

The lead article in a Rethinking Schools special report about the international exploitation of low-wage workers, many of them children, and how teachers are bringing this issue to life in their classrooms.

Facts on the Global Sweatshop

Some basic definitions and statistics on the global exploitation of labor by large corporations.

Global Sweatshop Handout

This is the handout given to students for the global sweatshop final project.

By Bill Bigelow

A handout given to students by teacher Bill Bigelow describing their final project on these topics.

Global Sweatshop Resources

By Bill Bigelow

A collection of references, contact addresses, and World Wide Web listings for more information on global sweatshops.

Taking Action Against Disney

By Steven Friedman

The story of one teacher and his students who organized a protest against the Walt Disney Co.’s use of low-wage labor.

Children Can Be Active Citizens of the World

By Craig Kielburger

Excerpts from a speech by Craig Kielburger, a student from Canada who has been active in building a campaign against child labor, at the 1996 convention of the American Federation of Teachers.

We Need a New Vision of Teacher Unionism

It's not unusual for harsh words to be exchanged among union members but what happened this spring is extraordinary.

By Bill Bigelow

By Bob Peterson NEA President Bob Chase recently called for teacher unions to shift their priorities and take more responsibility for the quality of teachers and learning environments. This angered some Wisconsin teacher union leaders, who feared he was playing into the hands of anti-union forces. Coverage of the controversy, and thoughts on the emerging social justice” vision of teachers as union members.”

Teacher Unionism

Text of two critical letters to Bob Chase from Wisconsin teacher union leaders.

NEA President Bob Chase Responds to His Critics

Text of NEA President Bob Chase’s response.

Standards and Funding

Putting Resources Where the Promises Are

By Stan karp

A look at the many issues raised by the growing standards movement. Can it become a mechanism for driving resources to schools that need them most? Or will it narrow the education agenda in the United States and leave poor children even further behind?

How Our Schools Could Be

Standards, Top-Down Mandates, and Grass-Roots Communities

By Deborah Meier

Excerpts from Meier’s essay in the 1997 book “Transforming Public Education,” in which she explores the effect that top-down reforms have on the development of vibrant schools.

The Loss of Paulo Freire, 1921-1997

Paulo Freire died on May 2 in Sao Paolo, Brazil, and educators throughout the world mourn our loss.. For many of us, Freire was the one who married politics and […]

Splits Widen Within Wisconsin Voucher Movement

By Barbara Miner

The issue of whether state money should fund religious schools has revealed cracks in the support for Wisconsin’s school-voucher program.

Two Powerful Films on Racism

By Larry Miller

Reviews of “Rosewood” and “Black Wall Street: A Lost Dream”