Assembling the opposition: Organizing struggles against neoliberalism and educational insecurity

Abstract

This article explores the realm of educational politics and the organization of opposition to neoliberal school reform in the United States of America. A distinguishing feature of the current reform movement—which blends free-market rhetoric with austere governance and undemocratic corporate control—is the callous normalization of educational insecurity. In this way, the author argues, contemporary trends in US school reform mirror, but also contribute to, the broader exacerbation of social insecurity under neoliberal governance. Though neoliberal reform strategies primarily target vulnerable groups with the aim of forcing them to acquiesce to market-driven reforms under duress, their blatant hostility often provokes dissent and resistance. Drawing on Judith Butler’s recent writing on the “performative politics of assembly,” the author examines two protests against neoliberal reform in an effort to think more deeply about the state of radical educational thought and the future of oppositional struggles seeking to transform the conditions of education in order to move beyond neoliberalism.

Rethinking the School Closure Research: School Closure as Spatial Injustice

“…These pro-closure arguments offer a set of values-tied to a neoliberal agenda, some researchers argue (Aviles & Heybach, 2017;A. W. Johnson, 2012;Lipman, 2007Lipman, , 2014Lipman, , 2018Lipman & Haines, 2007;Slater, 2018;Waitoller & Super, 2017)-to motivate and frame a vast policy landscape.…”

“…Together, these closure processes-justifications, policies, and implementation-reflect a broader agenda for education that, many argue, prioritizes competition and minimizes democratic participation in education (Aggarwal, Mayorga, & Nevel, 2012;Allweis, Grant, & Manning, 2015;Aviles & Heybach, 2017;A. W. Johnson, 2012;Killeen & Sipple, 2000;Lipman, 2007Lipman, , 2014Lipman, , 2018Lipman & Haines, 2007;Slater, 2018;Waitoller & Super, 2017).…”

“…W. Jackson, 2000;Journey for Justice Alliance, 2014;Lipman & Haines, 2007;Sell & Leistritz, 1997;Talen, 2001), with a handful of studies focusing on this opposition specifically (Deeb-Sossa & Moreno, 2016;Ewing, 2018;Finnigan & Lavner, 2012;Freelon, 2018;Good, 2016;T. L. Green, 2017;Pazey, Cole, & Spikes, 2017;Slater, 2018;Welton & Freelon, 2018). The reasons communities oppose closure are myriad: increased travel time or distance (de la Torre et al, 2015;Meckley & Hazi, 1998;Talen, 2001), damage to student/teacher relationships (Kirshner, 2015;Kirshner et al, 2010;Post & Stambach, 1999), erosion of direct democracy (Fontaine, 1998;Lipman & Haines, 2007), suspicion of racist motivations for closure (Briscoe & Khalifa, 2015;Ewing, 2018; Journey for Justice Alliance; 2014), and disagreements about whether the school was truly "failing" students (Buras, 2015;Deeds & Pattillo, 2015;Ewing, 2018;Pappas, 2016).…”

“…A common response, particularly in urban areas, is organizing to register their opposition with officials, change the closure process, or halt the closure through mass demonstrations, including marches and hunger strikes, or coordinated legal actions like lawsuits and civil rights complaints (Aviles & Heybach, 2017;de la Torre et al, 2015;Ewing, 2018;T. L. Green, 2017;Jack & Sludden, 2013;Lipman, 2007;Siegel-Hawley et al, 2017;Slater, 2018;Valencia, 2012). This kind of mobilization often involved building broad coalitions of students, teachers, and parents (Aggarwal et al, 2012;Conner & Cosner, 2014;de la Torre et al, 2015;Ewing, 2018;Valencia, 2012;Welton & Freelon, 2018).…”