Fundamentals of Organizing: Education
Teaching & Discipline
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Forms of Organizing
Accepts existing power relationships
Challenges existing power relationships
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Direct Action Organizing
Wins real improvements in people’s lives Makes people aware of their own power Alters the relationships of Power
NAACP version attacks structural racism Decision-makers factor NAACP in
beforehand
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Dual Forms of Bias
Individual BiasA teacher who says,
“There’s no way your son could have written that essay.”
Institutional BiasA policy that doesn’t offer
advanced placement courses at a predominantly Black school.,
because,“Those students will never use that
kind of knowledge.”
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Speaking truth to power
Individual Bia
s• Direct Service
• Self Help
• Education
• Advocacy
• Direct Action
Institutiona
l Bia
s
• Education
• Advocacy
• Direct Action
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Our Goals
Put theory into action! Attack institutional racism in education with a
national campaign for Excellence & EquityA campaign is a sustained plan for change using
strategies that impact our issues.¾ Identify issues in agenda¾ Identify promising strategies¾ Apply known tactics to each strategy
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Our Issue Agenda
Improving Teaching Improving Discipline Increasing Resource Equity Ensuring College & Career Readiness
* All applied to turnaround schools
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Our request – Each unit/branch picks one
Participate in the Campaign for Equity & Excellence by:
Adopting (at least) one issue area in education
Committing to (at least) one strategy Targeting turnaround schools Applying tactics that fit your community Working to perfect our education organizing
capacity
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FOCUS ON TEACHING
FOCUS ON TEACHING
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Teachers who close the achievement gap
1. fully prepared when they entered teaching,
2. had taught for more than two years, 3. certified in field &/or by National Board
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Strategies to improve teaching
Strategies: ¾ Stronger, More Diverse Pipeline (preparation)
• Tactics: ID future teachers, TEACH grants, residencies
¾ More Mentoring & Coaching (slows turnover)
• Tactics: Lead Teacher, mentoring, new teacher supports
¾ More teachers with Advanced Certification (certification)
• Tactics: Support for National certification, changes to state licensing
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Local tactics by function & engagementCommunications(Promote)
Education (Sensitize, inform)
Advocacy(Influence decision-makers/policy)
Direct Action(Grassroots Mobilization)
Medium Engagement
1:1 meetings with journalists, newsletter articles, feature issue in a blog post
Workshops, town halls, testing, monitoring data, conducting internal research and surveys
Phone individuals, speak @ school and board of ed mtgs; advisory boards
Hearings, panels, candidate surveys & scorecards
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Putting it all together – medium engagement
Branches with a medium interest in advanced certification Arrange a local media profile
(communications) Conduct & share a survey of
teachers(education) Form an advisory board (advocacy) Hold a scorecard rally(direct action)
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Putting it all together – escalating tactics
Branches interested in strengthening & diversifying the teacher pipeline could:
Distribute information about TEACH grants (low, education)
Appeal to the school board for incentives (med, advocacy)
Raise funds & challenge board to supplement TEACH grants (high, direct action)
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Strategy Chart
Constituents, Allies and Opponents’
Targets Tactics
Constituents = those directly affected by the issue; folks we can get to do things for us Allies = supporters, sympathizers; extra strength Opponents = those who’ll actively organize against us; recognize and move on; can be moved to allies
Primary Target = has what you want & wouldn’t otherwise give it to you Always an individual Secondary Target = has power over target but we have power over them Use only if primary won’t budget
Educational = target needs info on facts, situation or impacts Power= target needs motivation by threat, fear of losing something Must go outside their experience & get their attention
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Wrap-up
Group debriefQ & AEvaluation
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