Bridging our Big Picture into your own contexts
Resource: (Magazine Website): "Rethinking Schools"
Link: https://rethinkingschools.org/archive/
Article Researched: "We Are All Minneapolis: Schools and Teachers on the Frontlines of Fighting Fascism"
Link: https://rethinkingschools.org/articles/we-are-all-minneapolis/
Beginning of Text (Introduction): The article from "Rethinking Our Schools" titled "We Are All Minneapolis" starts off by mentioning that over 3,000 ICE agents were deployed to the Minneapolis, Minnesota area in January of this year. From the text: "As 2026 began, the Department of Homeland Security launched Operation Metro Surge, deploying more than 3,000 federal immigration agents to the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area — triple the size of both cities’ police forces." The introduction continues that this incident has triggered the rise of anti-facism in the United States. This section continues that "Columbia Heights Public Schools, a small suburban school district just north of Minneapolis that serves a student population of 3,400 — around half of whom are Latinx — has shouldered a disproportionate impact of the surge."
Middle of Text: This reading continues that a day before Renee Good was famously murdered on camera by ICE while in her SUV, a 10 year old girl and her mother were detained by ICE. The girl called her father to tell him that ICE was giving her a ride to school. In reality, this girl and her Mom were deported to a detention facility in Texas. Her Dad was expectedly devastated. The 5 year old in the above image with the bunny hat, was also picked up by ICE, along with his Dad. His brother came home to find both of them missing. The school principals rushed to the brothers home to try to offer him support.
A few days after the nurse, Alex Pretti, was also killed on video by ICE, a mother was abducted by ICE. Her 2 boys were also sent to a detention facility. “We had to deliver them to a detention center,” said Jason Kuhlman, the Valley View Elementary principal. “[For ICE] to put us in a position like that, I don’t have words. I mean, the frustration, the anger, it’s overwhelming.” According to Kuhlman, the boys cried when he explained what was happening and asked the school nurse to hold their hands while bringing them into the federal building.
These continued incidents are devastating to communities, and young children don't often understand. Schools are put in very difficult situations. These policies by the Federal Government and ICE are not humane, and causes high levels of stress and anxiety with the general population, not to mention to families of color. This section continues that "As the abductions became more frequent, many students and parents began to stay home out of fear. In some Minneapolis-area schools attendance plummeted below 50 percent." “Students used to ask me for help navigating friendships,” Xiong told the New York Times. “Now they ask me how to cope with ICE breaking apart their families and taking their friends.”
End of Text (Conclusion):
Families detained by ICE in Minnesota are sent over 1,000 miles away to a detention center outside San Antonio, Texas. From the article: "Detained families have reported undrinkable water, inedible food — sometimes with worms or mold, showers with soap that cause rashes, delayed medical care, and being forced to sleep with the lights on 24 hours a day." This is unacceptable, unethical, and inhumane.
In response, schools and teachers have been part of the resistance. As Jey Ehrenhalt writes, "Minneapolis Families for Public Schools quickly created rapid-response groups. These volunteer-organized teams of parents and community members began monitoring federal agency activity near schools. They coordinated community support and alerts to protect students, families, and staff. Leaders borrowed tactics from similar efforts in Chicago. Coordinators circulated a Google Form allowing families to request help anonymously with groceries, rides, rent relief, and other necessities while sheltering in place. Once the foundation of support proved solid, more neighbors began carrying whistles and patrolling city streets. They also kept watch during key times, such as school recess and arrival and dismissal."
Neighborhoods stepped up, acting as community watch groups by alerting others when ICE was spotted in their area. The article also mentions how teachers' unions got involved with support. School staff also started delivering food to families who were afraid to leave their home.
On January 30th, Minnesota inspired a nation for students to walk out of school and their classes in protest against ICE and their fascist actions. From the article: "Minnesota inspired the nation. The call for a nationwide shutdown on Jan. 30 gained traction. That day thousands of students walked out of classes in Atlanta, Austin, Portland, Knoxville, Milwaukee, New York City, Salt Lake City, Tucson, and other areas throughout the country." We also did this in Rhode Island.
Argument Statement:
The Rethinking Schools editorial "We Are All Minneapolis" argues that social justice unionism and organized collective resistance are necessary for educators to counter rising authoritarianism and protect communities. The piece advocates for building broad coalitions, teaching labor and immigrant history, and rejecting neutrality in favor of active, politicized teaching.
(Note: I used A.I. in order to research the main argument of this article in further depth with a prompt).
Additional Personal Thoughts, Connections, and Reflections:
- This article not only ties into what we have covered in this Graduation Education Class: Social Issues in Education, it also ties into my Teach Out Project where I also discussed ICE and their presence in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and the impact to students and schools.
- I have been to Minneapolis to visit family when I was 10 years old. My uncle worked for one of the small aircraft companies there. I remember that it is a clean city. I actually recall seeing the movie "Airplane!" in the movies there!
- My school, Highlander Charter School, had a lock down for approximately one hour last fall during last period, as there were reports that ICE was in the neighborhood. The 7-12 grade campus is in Warren on the Massachusetts line, however, our lower school (K-6) is located in downtown Providence. We didn't know at the time whether ICE was in the Warren neighborhood or Providence. Our school had administrators walk students to our buses one bus at a time, keeping an eye out for ICE. Apparently, ICE was in the Providence neighborhood, next to the lower campus school, and in their highly Hispanic neighborhood, causing anxiety with students and families. Our buses were diverted from going to the lower campus in Providence as well as Kennedy Plaza due to this threat of detaining students.
- This article about ICE in Minneapolis also mentions that there were student protests against this Federal Administration and ICE. There was also a coordinated "walk out' in Providence where our students did a "walk-out" during the last period of the day. At 1pm on a Friday, many students did a silent walk-out around the school with signs showing support for students, including students of color which many of our students are, for approximately 30 minutes. My entire Geometry class participated in this show of support and consolidarity.
- This article also ties into other texts that we have read and blogged about during this graduate class, including the themes of power and privilege, cultural discrimination, and the broken model.
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airplane!
- https://www.kare11.com/article/sports/mlb/twins/twin-cities-doctor-says-twins-fans-want-racially-inclusive-logo-update/89-1d50e9c7-c0da-43b6-a4f0-10b1ff7da45b (see image)
- https://www.kare11.com/article/sports/patton-performs-national-anthem-at-twins-home-opener-after-also-singing-during-protests/89-5e55ba25-021d-4038-a94d-eebdca1fa26e (Note: This was in 2020 after the George Floyd protests verses policy brutality)
Your post does a powerful job of showing how this article connects national policies to the real fear and harm students, families, and schools are experiencing. I thought your examples made the issue feel especially real, especially when you described how schools are being placed in impossible situations while trying to protect children and support families in crisis. I also appreciated the way you connected the reading to your own school community, because it shows that this is not just something happening far away, but also affects students here. Your point about collective action stood out too, since the article makes clear that educators, families, and communities cannot stay neutral when students’ safety and well-being are at risk.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing Darryl. I enjoyed reading your post. Your personal connection you mentioned was when your school had to lock down due to ICE being in the area. That must have been really scary for students. Sheltering in place was a good way to proceed so that students did not have to feel vulnerable. You mentioned buses were diverted for the safety of students and that goes to show how much your school cares for their students. Your geometry class walking out for 30 minutes was enlightening to read about because it shows how much coming together as a community can make a difference for others.
ReplyDeleteHi Darryl,
ReplyDeleteI loved reading your connections to the article and hearing how your school is supporting your students. This year, my school seems to have fewer students from immigrant backgrounds or who don't speak English than in previous years, and I am pretty sure that it is because of the fear of ICE. We've been working on making sure that our ICE plan is up to date and trying to protect our students and families by moving pickup to inside the building after being buzzed in (we don't have busses). It sounds like your school has made several plans about what to do to try to protect your students in the case of ICE being present on campus.
Hey Darryl, thanks for writing about this article and putting your personal experience into it. One of my schools is work at is in Providence, down the road where ICE was canvassing. I had left before the students were learning the news. So many of my students were concerned and reaching out to me asking if I saw anything. Not for themselves, but for classmates, their family, and in general. It's awful that corruption is happening and the next generation is fully aware and suffering.
ReplyDeleteHi Darryl, Thank you for sharing your own experiences with regard to your school's lockdown and walk-out. This is such a terrible thing happening in our country- the land of the free. But what is amazing is the community solidarity in response to ICE. I read several articles for our next assignment and a common theme was how schools and educators have stepped up to become frontline advocates offering support to students and their families by organizing community safety patrols, grocery deliveries and connecting families through emergency chains. A movement intent on instilling fear and tearing families apart is actually building strong community bonds.
ReplyDeleteHey Darryl,
ReplyDeleteI really liked your post, especially how you linked what's going on in Minneapolis to what's going on in your own school community. That made everything seem a lot more real, like it was happening right here.
What really stuck with me was the part about how students' questions have changed. It's powerful to go from asking about friendships to asking how to deal with ICE breaking up families. It shows how much students are going through and how problems outside of school have a big impact on what happens in the classroom.
I also liked that you talked about the lockdown and the walkout at your school. That link made your post even stronger because it shows that this isn't just a problem far away; it's already affecting students here. You're not just giving a summary of the article; you're also showing how it relates to real life.
It's also important that you bring up how hard this is for schools. Teachers are supposed to help students with their feelings while also dealing with rules that they can't change. Your writing made that tension very clear.
I also thought the community's response was very important. The way families, teachers, and neighbors came together shows how schools can be places of both care and resistance. That ties in with what we've been talking about in class: not staying neutral when students are affected.
Your post does a great job of showing how education is linked to what's going on in the world. These problems don't happen in a vacuum; schools are sometimes right in the middle of them.