School of Many Questions
At Home Activities
for Youth!
Lessons from African Resistance
Participate in the monthly delivery of educational material for young people about grassroots movements in Africa. Learn about brave people, young and old, fighting for African liberation and a world without poor people.
What can we learn from them?
Sample Activities...
Participate
for FREE!
January - May
sign up now
Questions you may have...
Who are the teachers?
This program is hosted by the All Chicago Tenant Alliance in collaboration with School of Many Questions - an alternative school run by political activists, teachers, and tenant unionists who practice education for social change. The school rents a small space in Humboldt Park where we host events and develop educational materials for activists around the world. We are interested in how learning can go head in hand with political organizing.
What kind of feedback are we looking for exactly?
This part is actually really important! We are asking for monthly feedback on the activities we deliver, preferably in the form of a phone call, or an in-person visit, but a written survey will be adequate as well. Your input will help us to create activities that are challenging but still within the realm of what young people like and will tolerate!
What are we hoping to do?
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Provide at home learning activities in the winter months for families in low-income neighborhoods. This will include a monthly delivery of materials that can be facilitated by kids themselves and sometimes with their parents. We will also be very happy to provide in-person teacher facilitation once a month upon request.
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Present an alternative to traditional education, which most often teaches young people to accept the world as it is instead of helping them develop the skills required to change it in big ways
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Teach young people about the world from the perspective of everyday people instead of those in power, which is the white, colonial perspective we most often learn in the school system
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Establish trust with families so that we can run in-person activities in the summer months
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Develop our own skills as teachers!
What sorts of things will we learn about?
We will learn about the history and culture of Africa and the brave people that fight for a world without poor people. We will ask questions about our own lives in relationship to these stories and how we might apply what we learn here in Chicago. Some themes we will explore are:
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Thomas Sankara and persevering through mistakes
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The Young Pioneers and a correct attitude towards self-discipline
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The Black Panthers and caring about people who are far away
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South African theatre and collective art
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The mask festival of Burkina Faso and anti-colonial traditions
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Weaving in Guinea Bissau’s liberation struggle and attitude to resourcefulness
What sorts of things are we trying to learn ourselves, as teachers and activists?
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How do kids at different ages actually need to learn? What problems do they face?
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What is the role of young people in social movements around the world?
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What are the challenges young people have when resisting individualism?
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What do young people learn about Africa and other under-developed parts of the world within the school system, what attitudes are reinforced?
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How can teens develop a desire to learn beyond what they’re forced to learn about in school?
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How can we find creative ways for adults to learn despite being busy with work, caretaking, and housekeeping?
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What can adults learn from young people about a correct attitude to the world and inequality?
Email questions@schoolofmanyquestions.com to sign up!
