kids
GRITtv: Anne Elizabeth Moore: Fighting for a Library
It's no secret to GRITtv viewers that profound inequality is one of the biggest problems our schools face. For over three weeks, a group of mostly single Latina moms have been occupying a building at John Greenleaf Whittier Dual Language Elementary School in the Pilsen neighborhood of Chicago, demanding the school system account for misspent funds--and build their kids a library. Anne Elizabeth Moore has been covering the story from the beginning, and she brings us this report.
Email this pageGRITtv: Got Docs: Race to Nowhere
What's all this talk about being in a "race" when it comes to education? Does the "Race to the Top" framing change anything? And what's all of this racing really doing for our kids? This week's featured documentary, Race to Nowhere, takes a look at just what's going on with our schools, and whether putting a lot of pressure on kids to ace constant tests and load themselves with work is actually producing happy, well-educated people.
GRITtv: David Corn: Pledging to America or Insurers?
Provisions of the much-disputed health care bill go into effect today, just as the Republicans unveil their new "Pledge to America," which includes a promise to repeal the law. But as the most popular bits are the ones that go into effect now, and, David Corn notes, health insurance companies aren't getting any more popular. Will allying themselves with the big insurers help Republicans? Or will people realize that they like the regulations just as Republicans try to pull them back? David Corn, Washington bureau chief for Mother Jones magazine, joins us via Skype to discuss the Pledge, the health care regulations, and suggest some strategy for Democrats for the midterms.
GRITtv: Generation Obama: Where Are They Now?
After years and years of listening to pundits bemoan the lack of engagement among America's youth, the kids finally came out for Barack Obama. Many of the volunteers and organizers that put Obama in the White House were young and working on a political campaign for the first time. From the Iowa caucuses to Nov. 4, a new generation worked day and night to change their country. A year later, we round up a few of them and ask whether they're still involved. Lana Wilson, founder of Obamaerobics, Mike Jones, NYU sophomore and Obama 2008 campaign volunteer, and Ebonie Johnson Cooper, campaign organizer in Ohio and Pennsylvania, join Elizabeth Mendez-Berry, who wrote about the Obama youth organizers and what they're up to now for an upcoming issue of The Nation, to talk about what they've done and how Obama changed their generation.
GRITtv: Are the Kids All Right?
It's not easy being a kid these days. Jobs are more difficult to find, college tuition costs continue to rise, and the military is seeking to ramp up its recruiting to fight foreign wars. The national teen unemployment rate is now estimated at about 24 percent, as the economy remains in decline and out of work adults vie for and replace teens in jobs usually reserved for a younger crowd. Figures are even worse for minorities. So what do America's youth have to look forward to? Mo Beasley, contributing writer to "Be A Father To Your Child" and an instructor at Medgar Evers College, youth activists Sharmin Hossain and Zaire Small of the Ya-Ya Network, and Fransesca Smith, a counselor at Camp Homeward Bound on what kids are doing to cope with the financial crisis.
