Chicago Veterans for Peace escalates its campaign to rid the public schools of militarism... 'Say NO! to the military model of conflict resolution' in our public schools...
Those of us who have covered the meetings of the Chicago Board of Education have been reporting regularly that members of Veterans for Peace have been speaking out -- politely but forcefully -- against the promotion by the Chicago Board of Education of the "military model of conflict resolution." According to a new announcement from Veterans for Peace, the organization will now be pushing its analysis through public work.
The vets' message against the militarization of CPS will be on billboards across Chicago.According to a Veterans for Peace press release of February 19, 2016:
"Thanks to many of you, Chicago will see veterans 'speaking' out against the military model of conflict resolution by violence that is pervasive in Chicago Public Schools. The messages (attached) are designed to promote dialogue about the epidemic of militarization in our schools (10,000 Chicago youth are receiving some form of military training) and dispel the myth that militarization is about "leadership" and "patriotism". The web site www.NoMilitary.org is dedicated to this initiative. There is powerful video there. Check it out!
"The messages will appear on a network of 38 electronic billboards within neighborhoods across Chicago. Each board rotates messages - 10 seconds/each message - with six messages every minute. The VFP message will be in this rotation on between 5 and 10 boards/week. We have enough funding to carry us into May. If you want to know the schedule and locations of the billboard messages, please contact me. I'll send a spreadsheet.
"Please spread the word via social media. The billboards are the visualization. You are the engine that will generate change.
ARNY STIEBER, Coordinator ChicagoVFP.org Join us!, https://www.facebook.com/ChicagoVFP, http://EducationNotMilitarization.org
https://www.facebook.com/DeMilitarizeCPS
Twitter @DeMilitarizeCPS
"Peace at Home, Peace Abroad"
By: Margaret Wilson
Military Model
I do not believe that students should be learning the military model to resolve conflict. There are much better examples for resolving conflicts without violence or believing that we have all of the answers. These schools should have closed a long time ago.