When I was a kid and needed braces on my teeth, my mother took me to an orthodonist in Madison, whose office was on the Square. Madison’s grid of streets form a square around the Capitol, a building with four entrances (1). Whereas Tahrir Square is a vast empty space, the Square in Madison is an epicenter around an iconic building that, when protesters occupied it, expressed their sense of civic investment: this is our Capitol and we own it. From the Square it’s only a few blocks up State Street to the University of Wisconsin campus. Like Cairo, Madison is a city with students and faculty quite willing to act on their idealism. For me it was trips to Madison, and especially exposure to UW’s cosmopolitan atmosphere, that convinced me I had to go to college there.
It is truly amazing to see so many Wisconsinites filling the Square and all levels of the Capitol’s rotunda. Wisconsin rarely makes an appearance on the national stage (an exception being the 2008 presidential election, when Wisconsin was a battleground state). Now, thanks to the national media’s attention to events in Madison, Wisconsin’s "days of rage" have put it on the the global stage.
What’s at stake is the future of public employee unions in Wisconsin and across the nation (2). What began as a protest against Gov. Scott Walker’s budget repair bill has turned into a struggle to preserve union rights in a state with a long history of union organizing, where the nation’s first public employee union was formed more than 50 years ago (3). Yes, Walker’s agenda really is a union-busting agenda–despite his insisting, over and over again, that it’s all about the budget deficit (4).
Please don’t misconstrue my title. Let me make it clear that I’m NOT proposing that we view protests in Madison and around the state as if they were strictly analogous to those in Egypt. What I want to emphasize is the information age connectivity that we can observe flowing between them. In today’s world, what goes around in the 24/7 media circus just keeps swirling–making it possible for protesters in Madison to compare the behavior of the Gov. Scott Walker and with that of Mubarak. This is not all that surprising since many protesters in Wisconsin are teachers, who were probably already plugged into current events in the Arab world.
Earlier this week, while watching local news on Milwaukee TV station, I saw a young protester carrying this sign: "WALK LIKE AN EGYPTIAN." Obviously, he had connected emotionally with the new-found pride and empowerment of his Egyptian peers. And, people in Egypt know about what’s happening here. Yesterday in Tahrir Square a young Egyptian held up a sign of solidarity: "Egypt Supports Wisconsin!"(5). That's what inspired me to write this post.
By the way, I don’t condone truly outrageous rhetoric because, as Ann Althouse has suggested, it hurts the cause. She makes her point by embedding a Wisconsin GOP video that highlights the hypocrisy of liberals who espouse civility but then act out their incivility (as some clearly are doing in Wisconsin (6). Most Wisconsinites, whatever their politics, are polite and conservative in their personal decorum. So the tone of the rhetoric is signifying how angry people are about Gov. Scott Walker’s positions (refusing to compromise on the benefits issue, overreaching on the union rights issue).
What’s my position on public workers unions, more specifically on teachers’ unions? To be honest, I’m somewhat critical of unions that could do more to uphold professional standards and do less to protect ineffective teachers. Still, teachers and public workers need unions to protect their interests. And unions do serve the interests of students when their efforts improve working conditions in the classroom. I belonged to a faculty union when teaching at a university in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education. Thanks to APSCUF (the PSSHE union) I had excellent health benefits and a reasonably good salary. In those days (I don’t know current details) APSCUF helped to maintain the quality of education by negotiating contract that kept the numbers of adjuncts low. This union was affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers, whose current president Randi Weingarten, has addressed the need for more rigorous teacher evaluations and other reforms (7).
Finally, I am concerned about political patronage. Let me explain. I grew up in Jefferson County and attended Watertown High School. The city of Watertown, though mostly in Jefferson County, is partly in Dodge County, the home turf of the Fitzgerald clan. On Saturday I discovered that NYT columnist Gail Collins (nearly always a hoot to read, even if you don’t agree with her) had heard of the infamous Fitzgeralds (8). The Senate Majority Leader is Scott Fitzgerald and the Assembly Majority Leader is his brother Jeff Fitzgerald. Oh, there’s one more, their father, appointed by Gov. Walker to head the state patrol. The stench of nepotism now polluting (figuratively) the Horicon Marsh is not unlike that of the Mubarak regime. Perhaps some of Gov. Walker’s supporters now see the folly of this appointment.
Teaching About the Wisconsin Protests (For detailed references and URLs see lists of resources.)
What’s happening in Wisconsin raises a lot of national issues, concerning public policy, labor unions and politics, local/state/federal government budget deficits, and growing income inequality (9). So this is a current events topic with relevance across many subject areas. Language arts and social studies teachers can use it as a stepping-stone to greater global awareness. A lesson on protests at home would help students understand that Americans get frustrated, too, but have rights to free speech and assembly that elsewhere people do not have or are struggling to secure. In addition, it would undermine the notion that tumultuous protests only happen in other countries.
Teachers in Wisconsin should find it fairly easy to bring these themes into a civics or history lesson. For a whole roster of suggestions, turn to Eugene Kane’s column in today’s Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
For a student/teacher event at a local high school see WISN TV’s Slideshow, "School Walkouts, Protests."
To give students an overview of events and issues, show the WISN program "UP FRONT with Mike Gousha" (online as three segments). Gusha interviews a Democrat Senator, then a Republican Assemblyman; a colleague interviews a Marquette University law professor.
For a print-media overviews aimed at a national audience see the New York Times ("Wisconsin Leads Way as Workers Fight State Cuts") or the Washington Post ("Obama Joins Wisconsin Budget Battle"). NYT reporter Steven Greenhouse considers the national and long-term implications of the Wisconsin confrontation in a "news analysis" article ("A Watershed Moment for Public-Sector Unions").
Charles Benson’s interviews with Gov. Walker and President Obama on TMJ4 TV offer different takes on the controversy. These could be used in middle school as well as high school classes.
For advanced students, if you are interested in POV analysis, "Cairo in the Midwest?" by Tobin Harshaw is an excellent resource. (Honestly, I created my title before I saw his.) Harshaw, a native of Wisconsin, provides a sampling of analysis and opinion. Each excerpt is linked to the original and students should be encouraged to check out at least some of thesepiece and, in many instances, find additional material. For example, John Nichols, a Wisconsinite writing for The Nation and from a pro-union/progressive point of view, presents a running account in "ON WISCONSIN: Live Reports From Ground Zero for Labor Rights" that is worth reading in its entirety.
OBSERVE: Simply tell students to look for signs mentioning Egypt or Mubarak in visual media (TV news, video, photos in print or online). Then ask them to share examples in class. ASK: Do these tell us anything about how Wisconsin protesters are processing their reactions to Gov. Walker’s proposals?
COMPARE/COMPOSE: Some commentators have suggested that the Wisconsin protests, with their focus on the rights of organized labor, have more in common with labor protests in Europe over wage/retirement concessions that governments are trying to enact. Encourage students to find out more about protests in Greece, Spain, or France in 2009. Then students prepare content to present--in an oral report, PowerPoint, or essay–to support or refute the idea that workers in Europe have concerns similar to public employees in the US.
CRITICAL THINKING: In a journalism or media studies class, examine the the spinning of facts and the accuracy statements by both politicians and media pundits. Send students to Politifact Wisconsin, where there are several items related to the Madison protests.
EXPAND: Read and discuss "First Amendment Remedies: How Working Wisconsinites Took Their Constitution Back" (from the Cap times). Then ask students to search online for a broader range of opinion on the constitutional issues.
WISCONSIN MEDIA RESOURCES
For breaking news and local/state opinion and editorials see coverage on the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel or Wisconsin State Journal sites. Also check out these TV web sites for breaking news, video from news casts and special features:
TMJ4 (Milwaukee). http://www.todaystmj4.com/news/local
1) ARTICLE: "Rallies Continue .."
http://www.todaystmj4.com/news/local/116516323.html
2) VIDEO: "Charles Benson Sits Down with Gov. Walker." TMJ4 reporter’s interview with the Governor. http://www.todaystmj4.com/news/local/116514928.html
3) RAW VIDEO: Charles Benson Sits Down With President Obama." Reporter’s one-on-one with the President on Wednesday (Feb 16).
http://www.todaystmj4.com/news/local/116358199.html
CBS News 58 (Milwaukee). http://www.cbs58.com/news.html
1) VIDEO: "Tea Party Rally on Saturday"http://www.cbs58.com/index.php?aid=16216
WISN (Milwaukee). http://www.wisn.com/
1) SLIDESHOW: "Images from Madison" (79 slides some out-of-focus)http://www.wisn.com/slideshow/news/26887954/detail.html
2) SLIDESHOW: "School Walkouts, Protests" (15 slides)http://www.wisn.com/slideshow/education/26902326/detail.html
3) VIDEO: UpFront with Mike Gusha (three segments)
- http://www.wisn.com/video/26931751/detail.html
- http://www.wisn.com/video/26931520/detail.html
- http://www.wisn.com/video/26931359/detail.html
The Cap Times. (Published only online.) http://host.madison.com/
1) Editorial. "First Amendment Remedies: How Working Wisconsonites Took Their Constitution Back." http://host.madison.com/ct/news/opinion/editorial/article_adcacc1a-b0d6-5026-b142-d41f0a69be7c.html?sourcetrack=moreArticle
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. http://www.jsonline.com
1) Breaking news (2-19-2011): "Biggest protests yet as pro-Walker side, larger union crowd meet peacefully." http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/116519738.html
2) Bill Glauber and Don Walker. "Showdown Called Defining Moment in Organized Labor" (2-20-2011). http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/116545638.html
3) Don Walker, Lee Bergquist, and Bill glauber. "Unions Concede on Money Issues; Governor Says Bargaining Must Go" (2-20-11).
4) Kane, Eugene. "Teachers’ Absence Could Turn into Civics Lesson for their Students." Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (2-20-2011). http://www.jsonline.com/news/wisconsin/116544193.html
OTHER RESOURCES
Althouse The blog of Ann Althouse, a UW-Madison law professor, who voted for Scott Walker in the November 2010 election. She has posted many photos and video clips related to the protests.
Politifact Wisconsin http://www.politifact.com/wisconsin/
Cooper, Michael, and Katharine Q. Seelye. "Wisconsin Leads Way as Workers Fight State Cuts." NYT (2-19-10). http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/19/us/politics/19states.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper
Denis, Brady, and Peter Wallsten. "Obama Joins Wisconsin's Budget Battle, Opposing Republican Anti-Union Bill." Washington Post (2-18-2011).
Greenhouse, Steven. "A Watershed Moment for Public-Sector Unions." NYT (2-19-2011). http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/19/us/19union.html?ref=politics
Harshaw, Tobin. "Cairo in the Midwest?" NYT (2-18-2011).
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/18/cairo-in-the-midwest/?ref=us
Nichols, John. "ON WISCONSIN: Live Reports From Ground Zero for Labor Rights." The Nation (2- 17-2011). http://www.thenation.com
Pollin, Robert, and Jeffrey Thompson. "The Betrayal of Public Workers." The Nation (2- 16-2011). http://www.thenation.com
Notes
1) For a map of the Square in Madison go to "Biggest protests yet as pro-Walker side, larger union crowd meet peacefully" and scroll down left side: http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/116519738.html
2) "Showdown Called Defining Moment in Organized Labor" (2-20-2011).
http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/116545638.html
3) Bill Glauber and Don Walker in the Milwaukee Journal (2-20-2011). See also John Fund, "What's at Stake in Wisconsin's Budget Battle," Wall Street Journal Online (2-19-2011). http://online.wsj.com/
4) See Gousha interview with Gov. Walker. Robert Pollin and Jeffrey Thompson, "The Betrayal of Public Workers."
5) CBS 58 News at 5 PM (2-19-2011). (I don’t recall the details for the first sign.)
6) "After all those efforts to paint Tea Partiers as using violent images and rhetoric, these pictures from Madison have got to hurt.." Althouse (2-17-2011). Access here to Wisconsin GOP video: "Rhetoric vs. Realty: Liberal Protest of Gov. Walker’s Budget" (on YouTube).
7) See interview with Randi Weingarten , "Wisconsin Public Workers Union Rights Go Head-to-Head with State Budget Woes." PBS: Newshour (2-18-2011). Transcript available on site.
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/politics/jan-june11/wisconsin_02-18.html
8) Gail Collins, "Sacred Cows, Angry Birds." NYT (2-19-11). See the last five paragraphs.
9) For inequality see Laura Essig's provocative post, "Is It Egypt, Yet?" Online at the Chronicle of Higher Education (2-17-2011), with comments.
No comments:
Post a Comment