{"id":268,"date":"2018-05-18T13:24:28","date_gmt":"2018-05-18T17:24:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.bowdoin.edu\/education-2272-spring-2018-mfriedl2\/?page_id=268"},"modified":"2018-05-18T15:43:17","modified_gmt":"2018-05-18T19:43:17","slug":"grassroots-organizing-synthesis","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/courses.bowdoin.edu\/education-2272-spring-2018-mfriedl2\/grassroots-organizing-synthesis\/","title":{"rendered":"On the Ground with Grassroots Groups: Organization Synthesis"},"content":{"rendered":"

What Does Grassroots Organizing Look Like?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

In Chicago, grassroots organizing in support of grow-your-own teachers initiatives mostly happens outside of issue-specific interest groups; instead, it has grown out of the work of a coalition of grassroots neighborhood associations in collaboration with institutions such as public schools, local universities, and local and state government associations. <\/span><\/p>\n

The movement for teachers to come from the communities they educate can be traced back to the work of the Logan Street Neighborhood Association, which helped build this grassroots network, leading to successful lobbying for the <\/span>Grow Your Own Teachers Act<\/b> in 2005. The act has built teacher-pipeline programs in communities of color. Below is a sample from the act, which you can read here<\/a>:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

http:\/\/www.ilga.gov\/legislation\/ilcs\/ilcs3.asp?ActID=2589&ChapterID=18<\/p><\/div>\n

Of course, in and out of Chicago, grassroots initiatives promoting teachers of color and teachers who come from the communities that they educate exists outside of this network started by the Logan Street community.<\/span><\/p>\n

Organizing Strategies\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  • Protesting & Lobbying<\/b>: the large number of organizers has helped the Chicago movement achieve public attention and a reputation. Their size and power has helped them successfully work to achieve the Grow Your Own Teachers Act. <\/span>\n
      \n
    • Coalition-Building<\/b>: creating a network of community organizations has allowed the movement to achieve power in Chicago <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n
    • Partnering <\/b>with colleges and the government through the Grown your Own Teachers Act has allowed grassroots organizers to implement a pipeline that helps parents and other community members get on the track to become teachers.<\/span><\/li>\n
    • Small-Scale<\/b>: less visible organizing is just as important. This includes: <\/span>\n
        \n
      • Formal and Informal <\/span>Networking<\/b>: to support teachers of color who face extreme burdens that often force them to quit their jobs. When teachers of color have the opportunity to share their experiences with each other, they build collective resilience. <\/span><\/li>\n
      • Parent Engagement<\/b>: Having parents be involved in schools strengthens schools as educators and participants in local politics. Parents show their potential to become teachers in their communities and help change their schools for the better.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
        \"\"

        https:\/\/www.newamerica.org\/education-policy\/edcentral\/where-are-all-teachers-color\/<\/p><\/div>\n

        Intersecting Issues:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

        The lack of teachers of color is part of the <\/span>feedback loop<\/b> of white supremacy in America and its education system. It is both the <\/span>effect <\/b>of systematic racism (schools and communities stripped of resources stop students of color from becoming teachers) and one of its <\/span>causes <\/b>(the lack of teachers of color prevent students from achieving):<\/span><\/p>\n

        \"\"<\/p>\n

        Barriers people of color face to becoming (and staying) teachers:<\/p>\n

          \n
        • Discrimination in the classroom (ex\/<\/span>microaggressions<\/b> that tell them they are inferior)\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n