Creating this website has been challenging and rewarding. From the research stage to customizing web pages I found myself at times disheartened by issues, searching for answers, and ultimately finding hope in the grassroots work currently happening. This project was enlightening, empowering, and motivational for me as a student and future teacher and community member. As stated briefly on the about page, my purpose for creating this website and researching grassroots activism in Providence, Rhode Island was both for personal and public benefit.

On a personal level, as a future teacher in Providence, I gained a better understanding of the issues Providence students, educators, and community members are actively rallying around. Of course I recognize this is just a glimpse at what my students and their families are grappling with in and out of school on a regular basis. However, I do believe every bit of information I can acquire helps in my attempt to better teach and support my students. The practitioner articles spoke to me as an aspiring educator. Nygreen’s article calling for the empowerment of teachers resonated with me such that I hope to stay conscious of my own thought rather than lose hope in myself and my profession based on the hateful speech spoken about educators in this political atmosphere driven by blaming schools and teachers for “failed” student performance. I hope to stay informed on the issues my students and their families care about. In this way I may support them in a variety of ways depending on my recourses: spreading the word about events or groups, attending public actions, fundraising, or even assuming membership. Regardless of my mode of involvement, at the core of my responsibility as an educator will be knowledge and understanding.

Compiling information on current education focused grassroots efforts in the greater Providence area showed me how multi-faceted the lives of students are, especially in an urban setting. As an educator I will be receiving and teaching the “whole” student. That is, the students in my school and classroom will not only be bringing with them their school learned knowledge. Instead, they will be filled with anxieties, thoughts, dreams, questions that extend beyond the walls of the school building to their homes and neighborhoods. I will be living in the city of Providence, in the same neighborhoods as many of my students, thus as a community member I also benefit from knowing what my neighbors care about.

Another hope for this website is that it has broader public gains. While researching grassroots organizations I realized how important it is to spread awareness. The foundation of any grassroots is educating community members about the issue and their potential role in mending the issue. I do not mean to assume that community members do not know of the issue. However, they may feel powerless in changing it or become so jaded in societal “normality” that they find it difficult to imagine anything different. If this website can at the very least spread awareness of various groups with varying missions pertaining to education, it has done a good public service.

Finally, this website has positively impacted my perception of who is involved in education focused grassroots movements. I was very pleased to find such a range of active community members: youth, students, teachers, parents, and other passionate community members. It is critical that different voices of age, ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic status, and other identities come together in grassroots efforts pertaining to such a communal backbone as public education. If all groups are represented then all voices should be heard.

I particularly enjoyed reading about youth activism in Providence grassroots efforts. Finding so many youth led initiatives gave me hope in an especially powerful way. I recall an activity don’t in a college course on Urban Education in which the professor instructed each of the students, myself included, to anonymously write what gave us hope in education moving forward. A student in the class wrote that what give them hope are “the kids who continue to fight despite a system of systems against them.” While researching Providence grassroots and finding several youth led organization, this reflection came to mind and I too gained a sense of hope in the future of our educational system and urban school communities.

Something that I did not find in my research and would like to explore more is the role of higher education personnel in educational grassroots action. Providence is a very compact city with four prestigious universities within its borders and several more on the periphery. Additionally each school within Providence such as Brown University, Providence College, Rhode Island College, etc. have well established education programs with well educated staff and students. I think there is great potential in Providence for schools of higher education to help mobilize grassroots organization within communities otherwise less able to exercise social capital nor may they have the time or financial recourses to stay up to date on political forces at play in their lives. Communities could benefit from educator’s support and guidance while colleges and universities get experience working with students and families in the community.

All in all this website has helped me gain knowledge about current grassroots efforts in Providence, RI while also allowing my to imagine how the current organizing can expand beyond its current limits. As a teacher I hope to stay informed on the actions and concerns of community organization.