By Jorge G. Zavala
Creative Director

In solidarity with the teachers from the Chicago Public Schools who officially went on strike this morning, I think about my own parents and their diligence within the CPS system. For many years, they both went to work with smiles on their faces, purchased school materials and goods out of pocket because "no budget" was allocated, dealt with 1st generation Americans, students with limited English capacity, and those in special education.

While my father is now a community liaison, businessman, and activist, he still stands in solidarity with my mother, a current educator, and fervid believer in social justice. Monday through Friday, she is the wonderful teacher with a variety of cute outfits who introduces concepts in English and Spanish while serving as a role model for our future generations.

My mother, a role model for the community and myself, is nothing short of someone I admire because of the heart she places into her work. With a compassionate heart and a sharp mind, mom regularly strives to foster a strong sense of self and community among her elementary school students. Whether it is learning the importance of the 4th of July or debating whether a tomato is a fruit or a vegetable, she is a passionate educator who sees her job as more than a profession. Her role as an educator, as my mom sees it, is really about giving back. As mom likes to put it, "social responsibility will change the world". I wholeheartedly believe her.

The hundreds of educators currently on strike in Chicago reflect more than a system gone wrong: it is a sign of the times. With a changing student population and a new decade 2 years young, the strike is a symbol of so many of the changes our society hopes to implement. Whether we are talking about the type of education our children need or the importance of the Spanish-language in public schools (and society), we are living in a time of change and it is our duty as citizens to facilitate this transition.

What's more, our own mayor, Rahm Emanuel, is regularly making our educators' lives more challenging. While there are many positive things Emanuel has done for Chicago, if you haven't walked in a teacher's warm, fuzzy shoes you don't have the right to make policy when you've not done the work.

As our current president speaks of "going forward, not backward", let's keep this in mind as we commute to work, school, or place of recreation. Give a helping hand to the teacher next door, offer an ear and receive wisdom. Like Sandy Cakes of Panaderia Azucar in Chicago, one can donate generous gifts of food and beverages to sooth our fellow (wo)man's constitutional right to protest.

Let's do this, friends, community members, and advocates of social change. Support the teacher next door - the agent of change for your child's future . I support our Chicago Public School teachers' right to protest and seek their rights as professionals, educators, and public figures in our communities. 

Si se puede: Yes we can.

by Jorge Zavala
Managing Director

Have you ever stopped to think what is happening to our children? Are we doing enough as parents, educators, and society to prevent violence?

Despite claims that schools continue to be some of the safest places for children, recent school shootings have contributed to the perception that few places are safe anymore. No rural community, suburb, day care, elementary, high school or college is immune to potential impact of violence. Even if a school or district has well-developed safety plans, security personnel, metal detectors, and hotlines, children in those schools are regularly exposed to violence. Given the attention paid to the tragedies in places like Jonesboro and Columbine on local and national television news, in newspaper headlines, and in conversations of parents and school staff, the very fabric of what it means to a young child to “go to school” is disturbed.

Violence at school can have a significant impact on young people, affecting emotional, physical, and mental health and their academic achievement. Most importantly, it also affects overall socialization and adaptation. In an effort to reduce the incidents of violence in public schools, several state legislatures and, subsequently, Congress passed laws implementing school disciplinary sanctions that became known as Zero-Tolerance Policies.

Every day since Zero-Tolerance Policies were implemented throughout the United States, children have been deprived of the education system. These policies require that children in kindergarten through 12th grade receive harsh punishments. This doesn’t surprise me that even at the college level this might be happening. Often for minor incidents that pose no threat to safety, students and their families regularly receive severe hardship. A strong body of compelling research indicates that these “get-tough” disciplinary measures most often fail to meet sound educational principles, and in cases their application defies common sense if we all agree on what common sense means.

More alarming than punishment meted out in schools is the tracking of children into the juvenile justice system for minor misconduct in school, which could also be misinterpreted. What is minor misconduct? Often, minorities, such as African-American and Latinos, are the students that bear the consequences of these policies. Also, children with disabilities or those who are a part of the special education program are categorized in this group. Policymakers, educators, and parents should be very concerned with the long-term implications of denying educational opportunities to millions of children, especially when effectiveness of these policies in ensuring school safety is highly suspect.

School safety is a critically important issue. Recent tragedies have heightened the public’s fear, which has led to legitimate calls for stronger preventive measures. We must ensure that schools remain one of the safest places for children and students of all ages, including college. Yet, the evidence gathered makes it clear that efforts to address drugs, guns, and other dangerous school situations have spun totally out of control, sweeping up millions of schoolchildren who pose no threat to safety into a net of exclusion from educational opportunities and into criminal prosecution.