Public schools: An institution worth fighting for Tuf Francis

Public schools: An Institution Worth Fighting For

Saturday, 9:00am | Workshop

In this session, education professor and urban educator Tuf Francis will describe four attributes of public schools: their original purpose, some historic development as an institution, the power of schools as a lever of social justice, and the current political and economic attacks on our schools. Most of the session will be devoted to a dialogue where individuals will be invited to share their experiences with their local schools (as parents, students, or teachers) and participate in a public “”think”” to strategize means of participating in our own communities to help these critical social institutions survive these difficult times.

Tuf Francis

Tuf (pr. “toof”) Francis began playing music on a single Middle Eastern drum, called a derbeki, 24 years ago. He broadened his musical repertoire over the next few years with guitar, drum kit, and song writing and recording. He was a public high school teacher, youth group leader, and praise leader from 1997-2007. He then took a seven-year hiatus from music to finish a doctorate in teacher education at the University of Michigan (inevitably making him an insufferable Michigan football fan). Currently, he is a family man, tenure track professor, scholar, public speaker, and active musician. His research interests focus on initial teacher certification, education program development, and building partnerships with inservice teachers. His speaking and musical efforts focus on helping churches and other organizations raise money for philanthropic causes. Check out his music video, To the Party, on youtube.com. Learn more about Tuf and his music: @TufFrancis and www.tuffrancis.com.

LISTEN

Session ID [61]