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The Rouge Forum is an activist group of educators and parents advocating for non-oppressive schools that foster critical thinking and democratic society. They oppose high-risk testing, the No Child Left Behind Act, and support grassroots activism for social change and justice. The forum envisions an inclusive community where people have equal rights and encourages questioning without fear of reprisals. They argue that standardized tests reinforce social divisions and the status quo.
The Rouge Forum was officially held in 1998 at Wayne State University in Michigan. According to the Rouge Forum website, the forum is an activist group made up of “student educators and parents seeking a democratic society” through non-oppressive schools that they advocate foster critical thinking and with the freedom to question the authority and the status quo. Forum members believe that classy, capitalist societies, where there are few rich and many poor, are kept afloat by the way the government regulates schools and subtly trains children to accept what it calls a classist, imperialist system , driven by war. society. The Rouge Forum supports grassroots activism and democratic and inclusive schools, against what it calls “high-risk” testing in schools, opposes the No Child Left Behind Act, and against wars, racism, sexism, authoritarian societies and other issues similar. The forum produces a biannual digital newsletter and holds an annual conference.
Forum Rouge members come from all levels of education and backgrounds. They believe that since the farm was the hub of society in the past, schools should play the same role now. Teachers and schools have a responsibility to educate children in a way that they believe promotes a more equal, open and democratic society. According to the Forum, teaching and learning in a democratic, inclusive and community-based school, where all are welcomed and valued, must be the mirror and the cornerstone for overall social change and justice. Social changes include building an inclusive community, where people have equal rights, and the understanding that “harm to one is harm to all”.
The society that the Forum envisions is open to questioning without fear of reprisals. They seek to bring people together across all socially constructed boundaries, including the boundaries of race, gender, community, unions and religions. The Rouge Forum encourages grassroots activism among its members to bring about this change.
The Rouge Forum, in particular, speaks out against mandatory standardized tests in public schools. Members argue that such tests do not measure actual learning; instead, it reinforces the status quo and social divisions. The Forum argues that the test results indicate this as most schools labeled as inadequate tend to be located in under-resourced districts, in rural areas and urban centres, and where most teachers would prefer not to teach. According to the Rouge Forum, schools that do well on high-stakes tests tend to be located in predominantly white, upper-class areas that are well-resourced and attract the best teachers. Rouge Forum members stay in touch with each other to discuss ways to promote their agenda through the semi-annual newsletter, the Rouge Forum website and an annual conference.
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