Chicago City Council Resolution Honoring the Life and Memory of George N. Schmidt
WHEREAS, The members of the Mayor and Members of the City of Chicago City Council were saddened to learn of the death on Sept. 17, 2018, at age 71, of George Neil Schmidt, a Chicago teacher, journalist and union leader who fought tirelessly to improve the lives of many thousands of Chicagoans; and
WHEREAS, George N. Schmidt, served the people of this city for more than 50 years since his arrival as a first-generation scholarship student at the University of Chicago in 1966. A conscientious objector to the Vietnam War, he began his life of service by organizing soldiers within the GI Movement, producing underground newspapers Vietnam GI and Camp News, and counseling soldiers in military law, which he studied at DePaul University. Over the next five decades, he tirelessly worked for civil rights, workers' rights, and for quality education for the students of Chicago, particularly those suffering from poverty and racism; and
WHEREAS, George N. Schmidt was a brilliant English teacher, who chose to work with the neediest students in Chicago, eschewing scripted lessons for dynamic instruction ensuring that all his students could appreciate and understand literature. As a prolific writer himself,.published in Substance, Chicago Lawyer and Chicago Reader, and in national periodicals Learning and Education Week, he taught writing with expertise, pioneering the use of Macintosh computers in the classroom and featured by Apple for his innovative teaching. A recipient of local and national awards for teaching and writing about classroom teaching, he also coached students in weight lifting and advised them in scholastic journalism; and
WHEREAS, knowing that unions are essential for the working class to ensure their rights and • obtain economic justice, George N. Schmidt empowered his colleagues in the schools through his work in the Chicago Teachers Union as representative and leader, working f...
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