Education Reform
(Real VS. Phony) and How Upcoming Events Will Help You Distinguish the
Difference
Many of us involved in Oregon SOS are thrilled about a
number of experiences this January that will help to create what we hope is a
larger dialogue on the subject of public education reform. (With our personal
interest being that this moves more people to press for and create reforms that
are GOOD for students and learning.) Please mark the dates/times below and make
sure to attend!
Oregonian Susan Mach, a teacher at Clackamas Community
College, a parent of a Portland Public School student and now an award-winning
playwright, has two plays opening at the same time in January, both
professionally produced by theater companies in Portland. The original Oregon
SOS folks met Sue at our first organizing meeting at the end of August 2011 and
she mentioned something about writing a play on education reform, so it has
been great to see how this has developed into the play that many are now
talking about produced by Third Rail Repertory Theatre: A
Noble Failure. (If you want to catch her other play, which also
sounds fantastic (not about education reform) you can read about it here.) Many of us saw A Noble Failure when
it was in its reading stage, and we were struck with how this artistic format
brought a complex subject to life and opened the floor to greater dialogue. We
cannot wait for opening day, January 11th!
In conjunction with the opening of the play, Brian Jones
has been brought out courtesy of Third Rail Repertory Theatre, Multnomah County
Cultural Coalition, and Clackamas Community College. Brian is a teacher,
actor, activist, who is also
pursuing a PhD in urban education and was featured in the documentary The Inconvenient Truth Behind Waiting for Superman. Brian lives and works in New York
City, and while Oregon, or even Portland, is not quite like NYC in many
regards, there are still striking similarities to what is happening in NYC to
what is happening in Oregon and elsewhere around the country in regards to
education reform. We need to learn from these experiences and create “real reforms” that create quality, public
education for all students. Come hear from Brian how he and other activists are
pushing for real reform in NYC and let's start working towards building a
stronger, united effort for positive reforms in Oregon.
Here is a chronological list of events and related
information:
Sunday, January 6th, 7-8:30PM:
Showing of the movie The
Inconvenient Truth Behind Waiting for Superman
COST: FREE (please
purchase a beverage and/or snack to support the venue)
LOCATION: Velo Cult, 1969
Northeast 42nd Avenue, Portland, OR 97213
REGISTRATION: None
Oregon SOS will
show the film and follow with a discussion that connects the reforms and characters in the film with their Oregon
counterparts. Don't miss this discussion and chance for Q&A with people who have been delving into the weeds on Oregon
education reform! This film and
discussion will also give you valuable information for the other events that
follow.
Thursday, January 10th, 5:30-7PM (reception) and 7:30-9:30PM
(play preview & “talk back”)
Special reception to
meet Brian Jones (and possibly Susan Mach!)
COST: FREE
LOCATION: Reception:
First Unitarian Church, 1211 SW Main St., Portland, OR 97205
Play
Preview: Winningstad Theatre, 1111SW Broadway, Portland, OR 97205
Friday, January 11th, 5-6:30PM
Public Forum with
Brian Jones: Real VS. Phony Education Reform
LOCATION: Redeemer
Lutheran, 5431 NE 20th, Portland, OR 97211
REGISTRATION: Register
free here
Friday, January 11th, 7:30-9:30PM
Opening Night of A
Noble Failure
COST: Tickets can be
purchased here
For 30% off the single ticket price, call 503-235-1101 and use the education promo code: FIXING
Sunday, January 20th – a special panel discussion is in the
works for this afternoon's performance of A Noble Failure. We will let
you know as soon as we have more info.
The play runs from January 11-February 3. Don't forget to
use the special promo code for discounted tickets, and if you work in
education, you can attend the special preview night for free.
We hope you can attend one or more of these events and
please spread the word so we may Educate, Agitate, and Organize in the best
interest of students and our communities!