23 Best Signs From the Philadelphia Teachers’ Protest

Thousands of teachers jammed Broad Street before a meeting of the School Reform Commission late Thursday afternoon, protesting the SRC’s unilateral cancellation of teachers’ contracts last week.

Speakers at the protest spent a few hours railing against the SRC, Bill Green, Gov. Tom Corbett, and SRC member Sylvia Simms — who students said told them they “belong in jail” at a movie screening Simms hosted Wednesday night. There were many signs supporting Democratic gubernatorial candidate Tom Wolf, Gov. Corbett’s opponent in next month’s election.

The speakers also had strong words for the counter-protesters hired by the Commonwealth Foundation, who were also demonstrating near the front of the School District building.

But the protest also featured some fantastically clever signs. Given that one of the first pieces I wrote for Philly Mag three years ago was a roundup of the best Occupy Philly signs, I decided to snap some shots of the best signs at the protest.

Some Harsh Words for Bill Green

Oof. By "best," I mean "best and worst."

My Favorite Sign

If you can't find a babysitter and bring your kid to a protest, you might as well incorporate him into your sign.

Supplies and Money

There were lots of signs about how often teachers have to buy their own supplies.

One of Many Anti-Corbett Signs

This reminds me of a "Dump Dallas" sign the Daily News did with Emmitt Smith in the 1990s.

Outsourcing Complainers

Teachers knew of the Commonwealth Foundation's protest and reacted with their own signs.

March Down Broad

A man in an all-red body suit helps lead a march to School District headquarters.

SRC Skull

A lot of work went into this one.

The Paintarama Bus

The Northeast Philly Paintarama bus was here, for some reason.

Paintarama, Rear

Another shot of the Paintarama bus.

???

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Crush Corbett

This visual is a little much, honestly. Maybe a lot much.

Peeps!

This was in the middle of the protest, meaning no cars could see it to honk. Still, I enjoy the "Where my peeps at?!" quote.

Fund Schools, Not Prisons

The way this is printed makes it look like a Wildwood boardwalk T-shirt.

Protesters Pose

Protesters with "WTF SRC" and other signs pose for a photo while doing the power fist.

Bill Green, the Anti-Teacher Machine

If you're my age, this sign reminds you of the Sega Genesis game Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine, of course.

"Where Is Our Money Going?"

These are complicated signs.

Contract With Students

Now this is clever.

Sneaky Rotten Cowards

Also pretty clever. I wish there had been more acrostic poem signs.

One of the More Popular Signs

There were dozens of these. With school budget cuts, I'm getting it was made in the open-source program Gimp instead of Photoshop.

The New Broad Street Bullies

Watch out! Comcast might get angry at you appropriating its hockey team's nickname.

Benjamin Franklin Quote

Nice silhouette of Ben Franklin here.

Protesters in Costume

You have to be dedicated to wear a giant crayon costume.

A Direct Sign

This one is pretty straightforward.