school students
Archive of articles on school students' struggles around the world.
France - How many bridges have we got to cross before we get to beat the boss?
Today is the 5th 24-hour not-so General Strike in France since September 7th. The refineries have returned to work, often under the pressure of "Work or prison", a wonderful choice resignedly accepted by the unions and by the workers resigned to the union form. Likewise the oil depot bockades have been dismantled with the help of the forces of disorder.
It remains to be seen what happens in the often more interesting movements developing outside the world of wage slavery, a world that, for increasing numbers, is tending towards a slavery with decreasing wages. What follows is just a glimpse of some of what's been happening round the country.
Ales: Revolution roundabout.
1969: Revolution as personal and as theatre
Written in March 2001, this is essentially autobiographical, but gives a good flavour of the epoch (free concerts, street/political theatre, the beginning of squatting and the London Street Commune, skinheads v. long hairs, Schools Action Union, The Festival of Light, strikes, etc). It also contains some reflections on other aspects of theatre (e.g. Brecht).
The photo here is of 144 Picadilly, squatted in 1969 and talked about in this article.
1969:
revolution as personal and as theatre
1968, for all of those who wanted to live against a world without future, was a great year. But as almost always at that time, I was a late developer. It was 1969 before I got going.
1969 was good but wasn’t great: it seems useful to reflect on this period a bit, as a bit of contrast with the madness of today’s normality.
Zengakuren: Japan's Revolutionary Students
This is an excellent historical introduction to the period of Japanese student radicalism that began after the war in the wake of the increasingly ineffective strategies of the Japanese Communist Party and which culminated in massive social unrest and change around the Japanese school system and society in general.
Chapters:
1. Historical Background
2. Origins of Zengakuren
3. The Anti-Ampo Struggle
4. The University Problem
5. The University Struggles
6. Kakumaru - Portrait of an Ultra-Radical Group
7. The Future...?
Who's Who in Zengakuren and the Youth Movement in 1969
Download the PDF to read the book.
Gothenburg school pupils strike against job cuts
400 pupils at Sjumilaskolan in Gothenburg suburb Biskopsgården have been on a week long strike since angry parents got the message that half the staff was to be sacked due to the economic crisis and estimates of falling pupil numbers.
The teacher union´s (Lärarförbundet) representative Stratos Ayassotelis says incredibly enough that the teachers do not support the strike and that they´ve been spending the day calling parents encouraging them to send their kids to school claiming that school attending is compulsory in Sweden.
March 2003: Schoolkids against the Iraqi War
The actions of schoolkids in March 2003 throughout the world were perhaps the most interesting aspect of the opposition to the Iraqi war.
Undoubtedly they failed to stop the war, surprise, surprise. They fizzled out as it became obvious that the war would just go on despite what was done in the streets.
A heavy burden on young shoulders - TPTG
TPTG analyse the developments in Greek movements against education reforms.
"It's not books, nor high marks. What we lack is life"
Italian students: We will not pay for their crisis
Italian students keep on demonstrating against the recent reforms supported by the Ministry of Education.
“We will not pay for this crisis” is the slogan of the Wave, the nickname used by students in Italy for their movement against the recent education reforms put forward by the Minister of Education, Gelmini.
Germany: high school students strike
High School students struck and marched across Germany yesterday in protest against classroom overcrowding, lack of teachers, and the pressure of examinations.
Some 100,000 participated in demonstrations across the country, walking out of classes and marching in over 40 cities. They protested for more permanent staff, smaller classes, and against a sped-up version of the school leaving exam, called the “turbo-abitur”.
Warm autumn? Heat rises in Italian education
In response to new educational reforms from the Berlusconi government, staff and students at Italy's schools and universities have risen in revolt. What follows is an overview of what's been going on.
2.5 million people gathered last Saturday, October 25th, in Circo Massimo in Rome. The demonstration had been called by the Italian party PD (the Democratic Party, centre-left) whose leader Walter Veltroni was defeated by Berlusconi in the last election (Spring 2008).
France: university strikes and occupations against the LRU continue
.jpg "Nanterre university blockade")
Students across France have been voting on the next step in the ongoing struggle against the so-called reforms of the LRU law.
On Monday the government announced a 50% increase in university budgets over the next five years and also vowed to spend 11M on student housing.
