More on Schools and Gardens

I saw this article today and was struck by the similarities between the fight for public education and public space. In particular, this story of Chicago parents occupying their neighborhood school reminded me of similar stories about the fight for community gardens in the Bronx.

Mark already identified many of the parallels between education and gardening. The fight for community control, particularly in urban contexts, is another. In both cases, communities used occupation or encampment tactics to defend spaces vital to their communities.

Beyond that, they used these tactics to assert that schools and gardens belong to their communities-- not to the city government or whatever company the government wants to subcontract the space out to. This seems like an appropriate response to city governments that seem determined to shut people out of the public conversation about what happens to their schools, their gardens, and the future of their cities.