Oakland's general strike -- Today's teachable moment

"We as fellow occupiers of Oscar Grant Plaza propose that on Wednesday November 2, 2011, we liberate Oakland and shut down the 1%." -- Occupy Oakland General Assembly votes to shut it down.

Teachers and students are playing a central role in today's general strike. Teachers are participating in teach-ins across the city and thousands of students are planning to take part in school walkouts. Lots of schools should be closed with lots of learning going on. No standardized tests but authentic, performance-based assessments. Curriculum includes values clarification, community leadership, economics, political science (this is what democracy looks like), mathematics (percentages -- the power of 99).

Students in Philly are walking out for 99 minutes at noon in solidarity with Occupy Oakland. In New York, the New York City All Student Assembly has called for students to gather in Washington Square to express their solidarity before joining other Occupy Wall Street activists in a larger solidarity demonstration.

I don't know why I'm surprised at the total black out of the general strike on morning news show. Of course, Democracy Now covered it extensively. But not a word on NBC's Today show --  I did learn a lot about Kim Kardashian's impending divorce from Kris whatshisname. 

Oakland cops are asking Mayor Quan, "are we part of the 99% or not."  The fact that they are even asking doesn't bode well for Wall Streeters.