PORTLAND, Ore. – While Portland’s school and teacher union leaders are reluctant to take any direct, public action that would trigger the district’s first-ever teachers’ strike, a group of radicalized students, teachers and community members appear anxious for a showdown.

On Monday night, some 400 protestors flooded the weekly Portland school board meeting holding pro-union signs and chanting, “Stand Up! Fight Back!” and “We’ll strike, too, if you do! We’ll strike, too!” KATU.com reports.

The protest culminated with a high school senior leading the rabble in a series of chants outlining the protestors’ demands, which – as difficult as it may be to believe – mostly mirrored what the Portland Association of Teachers are demanding from the school board.

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According to OregonLive.com, the protestors’ demands included class sizes of less than 20 students, funding for “wrap-around” services (which is union-speak for more social welfare programs), no school closures, “support for all teachers” (whatever that means), and discipline practices based on “restorative justice” instead of suspensions and expulsions.

The rabble also demanded that the new Common Core-related curriculum be replaced with a “rich, relevant” one. (This is proof that even a blind squirrel finds a legitimate nut now and then.)

It’s obvious Portland teacher union leaders are using innocent, ignorant students to drum up public support for their cause. As despicable as that is, it’s a pretty common tactic among the nation’s self-serving teacher unions.

That wasn’t the only common union tactic on display Monday night.

OregonLIve.com notes the protestors used a demonstration technique that’s often used by labor union activists and other left-wing zealots. After the student leader read each of the demands aloud, his cohorts repeated it in unison. The display of solidarity helped mask the fact that most of the student protestors probably couldn’t even explain what a school board does, much less identify any of the Portland board’s positions in the ongoing contract talks.

Various reports indicate that the nine-month contract stalemate between the school board and teachers union is largely due to district leaders’ efforts to reclaim some of the decision-making authority that’s been ceded to the Portland Association of Teachers over the years, often in lieu of hefty pay raises. Portland school officials are trying to strip language out of the current teachers’ contract that prevents principals and administrators from making certain personnel decisions and teaching assignments.

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1-13-14 Students storm School Board from Peter Parks on Vimeo.

Administrators need those crucial powers to ensure students are being taught by the best possible educators. In other words, the school board is actually looking out for the best interests of the students.

The young protestors – who’ve been indoctrinated by the Portland teachers union – don’t understand that, of course. And the adult radicals who joined them don’t care. The adult radicals have their own separate political agenda that has nothing to do with teaching quality or the students’ welfare.

Monday’s demonstration – which can be viewed below – didn’t last long and no arrests were made.

After listening to the protestors for a short time, all the board members but one left the room to go into an already-planned executive session, which is closed to public view. KATU.com reports that “board member Steve Buel stayed behind to listen to the student protesters.”

Negotiations will continue on Thursday when district and union leaders meet again with a state mediator.