Children play at picketing on Chicago's Northwest Side, carrying handmade signs in support of Chicago schoolteachers, whose negotiating positions are backed by the neighborhood association sponsoring the camp. (Antonio Perez, Tribune photo)
About a dozen energetic protesters carried picket signs as they marched this week along Armitage Avenue, demanding that Chicago Public Schools give teachers raises, decrease the importance of testing and save neighborhood schools.
But these weren't unionized teachers hoping to negotiate a better contract. They were elementary and middle school students participating in a strike-themed educational camp organized by the Logan Square Neighborhood Association.
The association, which is supportive of the teachers union, is using the strike as an opportunity to teach local youths about civic engagement and the democratic process. The Freedom Camp, which started Monday, is for students from kindergarten through high school. Most of its events take place at St. Augustine College's campus in Logan Square.
Organizers say the camp not only gives parents a place to send their child during the day, but its curriculum explains the strike in an age-appropriate way.
"There were some students who weren't too aware (of the strike)," said Maria Trejo, one of the coordinators of the program. And "parents come in and say, 'I don't know what to tell my child.'"
At first many students did not understand the significance of the strike, but soon even the elementary students could articulate why it was important that the teachers contract dispute be resolved, said Pearl Martinez, who is overseeing the camp's curriculum.
One by one, about a dozen students stood in front of a classroom to explain the reasoning behind their handmade picket signs and what they would do if they were the mayor.
Kevin Gomez, 9, argued that teachers should get more money so they could buy more school supplies.
"Some people don't have crayons," he said. "If they don't have crayons, how are they gonna do their projects?"
Some students said city officials should make the schools safer. Others said there should be smaller classes, admitting that students don't always behave in large ones.
Marilyn Hernandez, 9, proposed a change to the teachers contract that was popular among the students:
"If I am a mayor … I would give less testing to the students so the teachers would not get in trouble," she said.
The camp changes the curriculum to suit students of different ages.
For instance, high school students have joined teachers on the picket lines to see the strike up-close and personal.
The association relies primarily on its own staff and volunteer teachers who work in the Logan Square Neighborhood Association's community learning centers. Parents have pitched in with money and supplies, while local grocers have donated snacks and drinks.
About 30 or so students gathered in a classroom Wednesday competing to find out who could sing protest songs the loudest. The winner was unclear, but their sentiment wasn't:
"We shall not be moved. We shall not be moved," the students sang. "We support our teachers. We shall not be moved."