The Chicago Reporter

This week, thousands of students across Chicago sharpened their pencils, slung backpacks over their shoulder and headed back to school.

But what kinds of challenges did they face when they got there -- both in and outside the classroom?

This week on the Barber Shop Show, we're putting together a few of our best segments on education to mark the beginning of the school year in Chicago. You won't want to miss these excerpts from important conversations on school violence, academic achievement and parental involvement.

We'll listen to two teens talk about their experience commuting to Uplift Community High School in Uptown. The teens will discuss how they were scapegoated by bloggers for crimes even though it was the students who were the victims.

From our recent episode on adult literacy, we'll hear from two community advocates on how parents reading struggles significantly affect their children's education.

And we'll also talk about the schools that aren't opening this fall, and how the Chicago Public School system handles school closures may lead to violence.  This features a conversation that came to us from Free Write Jail Arts and Carlos Ortiz.

Did you miss last week's show on segregation and health? You can catch our video review on the blog, or listen to the entire episode on Vocalo.org.

Photo credit: Shutterstock/Photo of school bus rushing