Monday, July 06, 2009

Teachers Unite Activist Course Aug 24-27

http://www.teachersunite.net/register

Register today for Teachers Unite?s Teacher Activist Course! You can
sign up for any combination of Sessions 1, 2, 3 and 4 being held
August 24-27.

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Some feedback from participants in our spring course:

"Terrific energy in the room. Thank you for the intellectual
stimulation and overall nurturing!"

"The walking tour was a tremendous way to introduce the idea of
schools and community. The conversations surrounding Ocean
Hill-Brownsville have enlightened my understanding of control in NYC
schools."

"I have a new understanding of the nature of power relations and
organizing strategies, plus the tactics and the 'how to' of parent
organizing."

"I loved hearing about the history of privatization of public
education, and getting together with other teachers to brainstorm.
I've decided today that I'm going to run for Chapter Leader thanks to
the conversations I've had today in this session."

"Keep feeding me information and inspiration!

"

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Details at http://www.teachersunite.net/register
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Course session descriptions:

Monday, August 24 - Session 1: ?

Understanding Power and Oppression

How does oppression play out in public education? What is power? Can
teachers be powerful enough to transform public education? Through
group discussions and activities, we will examine what roles race,
class, and gender play in teachers' work and personal lives. We will
explore various types of oppression and power and discuss how they
manifest in schools. Teachers will have an opportunity to begin
exploring their own ideas for transforming public education.

Tuesday, August 25 - Session 2: ?

Effective Community Organizing

How can teachers build enough power to transform public education?
What does community organizing mean? How can we create sustainable and
successful campaigns that improve teachers' and students' daily lives?
Whether it?s organizing your colleagues around a school problem or a
community concern, participants in this session will learn strategies
and techniques for framing an issue, engaging others, and developing
an effective organizing campaign. There will be opportunities to
identify and plan campaigns around key educational issues.

Wednesday, August 26 - Session 3: ?

Who Controls Public Schools in New York City?: A History of the City's Schools

New York City schools have always been ?contested terrain,? places
where many disparate interests have come together. This session will
focus on two key points in 20th century history (1908 and 1968) in
which those interests have come together and have clashed. We will
explore those conflicts in depth to understand what they reveal about
whom the schools serve and what role parents, teachers, and
politicians have played in the schools. We will also hear from experts
who will contextualize the city?s recent history of schooling and what
can be done to bring the city schools under the control of the people
working in and being served by them.

Thursday, August 27 - Session 4:

Education Reform, Social Justice and Teachers Unions

Too often teachers unions have failed to adequately address the
attacks on public education. As a result, many committed social
justice activists question whether unions can be mobilized to fight
for education reform and justice for our students ? or even, whether
they are part of the problem. In this workshop we will discuss what
all teachers should know about their unions, the role they could and
do play in the fight for education reform and strategies to mobilize
our unions to more fully represent the interests of the teachers they
serve. We will also focus on some nuts and bolts about the UFT, our
contract, and how to organize union chapters and campaigns in one's
school.

Visit http://www.teachersunite.net/register for more information about
the sessions and how to register.

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212-675-4790
http://www.teachersunite.net

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visit http://www.teachersunite.net/signup to become a member or
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