Something that I have found in looking at grassroots activism around public schools, is that when public schools attempt to fix themselves outside of the community or when the community attempts to work out problems outside of the school, things tend to go wrong.  The most effective way to organize around public schools is by working together within the school and the communities.

An important factor in this is the relationship between the teacher and the community.  As has been reiterated by many speakers and readings that we have seen this semester, most notably perhaps being Dr. Chris Emdin, it is so important for teachers to take an interest, if not a role, in the community in which they are teaching.  Understanding the community a school exists in can be incredibly helpful in being an effective teacher in that community.  So, I wanted to focus on the roles teachers in urban settings play in their communities and how they do so effectively.