An Afternoon with Bill Ayers
by Lois McGee
Bill Ayers’ presentation to the Philadelphia Writing Project public school teachers, Penn students, faculty and staff was outstanding. He invoked the spirit of Martin Delany as he drew parallels between Delaney’s activism and modern day advocates working for educational equity in an era of high stakes accountability. His journey as a teacher, school leader, parent, and national leader was inspiring.
Through informal dialogue Dr. Ayers helped the audience look critically at the school reform landscape in Philadelphia, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco by examining the commonalities and differences in districts informed by differing theories of school change. He put a spotlight on teachers by sharing his son’s narrative and by inviting teachers to tell their stories--to share their personal struggles to maintain adherence to democratic core values in the midst of varied reform initiatives. Reminding us all of that human interaction is at the heart of teaching.
Reminding us all of that human interaction
is at the heart of teaching.
The influence of issues, such as teacher quality, accountability, and class size were highlighted. Dr. Ayers called for community collaboration and the cultivation of allies in the struggle to make practitioners voices heard in the national discourse on school improvement and in the development of educational policy that benefits everyone is noteworthy.
We are honored to have had someone of Bill Ayers influence in the current education arena address our Philadelphia Writing Project and University of Pennsylvania audience. In fact our PhilWP leadership team was so influenced by the discussion that they decided to use To Teach as a mentor text in our Invitational Teacher Institute this summer.
Lois McGee retired from the School District of Philadelphia after 36 years of service. Currently, Lois is serving as co-director of professional development with the Philadelphia Writing Project; she plans to resume teaching at Harcum College in the fall. Lois joined PhilWP as a teacher consultant in 2011.