Teacher Activism: Is Any Action Too Small?
Teacher Activism: Is Any Action Too Small?
By: Lauren Creek
"To create classrooms as spaces where people participate in democracy and take up social action as part of their processes of thinking, we need to be involved in activist communities outside of school (Bomer & Bomer 155).”
· What are ways we as teachers can be activists in our communities?
· How do we make this a realistic practice when we already have the substantial work load and time commitment of teaching?
It is Borman and Borman’s belief that teachers who solely fight for issues in public education are not doing enough to advocate for their students. Specifically, they state, “there are also larger issues that affect children’s lives and learning, and the quality of our shared world more powerfully than schooling ever can (Borman & Borman 158).” While I agree with the idea that there are bigger issues that can affect the lives of our students, they’re undervaluing the difference seemingly insignificant steps can make.
In an article David Chura wrote for The Huffington Post he discusses the importance of teachers being activists for the “big’ world issues i.e. health care, abuse, immigration, etc. Yet, even after acknowledging this he states that students seeing how we as teachers act in the “every-day world” is “even more profound” than us advocating for the bigger issues. He gave the example of never breaking a rule no matter how menial because it’s the right thing to do. Our student’s watch us; how we treat other people and how treat them. I would argue, like Chura does, that modeling these behaviors for our students will greatly impact how they interact with the world and how they should expect the world to interact with them.
Borman & Borman encourage us to be activists for issues such as global warming, death penalty, economic globalization; find what your passion is and put “The Process of Social Action” into play. As teachers we know our passion is our students and their education. If this is what we are passionate about why shouldn’t we put the lives of our students first? There are plenty of people in the United States that don’t care to fight for school funding, academic legislation, and against school closures, so if we don’t fight for that who will? I would also venture to guess (I am not a teacher yet, so I can’t say with certainty) that you could translate your activism for education into the classroom and show your students how to use your experience as a model for their passions. Then as you learn more about your students and their needs, passions, and desires you’ll gain new passions to advocate for as well.
· What causes are you passionate about?
· Was there a specific event or experience that brought you to your passion?
Without passion for the issues you take a stand for you most likely won’t be an effective activist. Fighting for your cause will take a great deal of extra time, resources, energy and heart, in addition to being a full-time teacher and advocate for your students. If your full heart isn’t in it, you’re not going to be a great model for your students. Start with those small insignificant steps. Take interest in your students, affect change in their lives at school, advocate for their education, and watch your passion grow.
References
Bomer, R., & Bomer, K. (2001). For a Better World: Reading and Writing for Social Action. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Chura, D. (2013, June 10). The Many Faces of Teacher Activism. HuffPost. Retrieved from https://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-chura/the-many-faces-of-teacher_b_3414983.html
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ReplyDeleteWhen i learn how to post images i'll update the blog.
DeleteI enjoyed your post. It made me think about ways to become an activist when I enter a classroom.
Although Borman & Borman encourage us to be activists for issues such as global warming, the death penalty, economic globalization; Currently, I do not have a passion for supporting any external belief or organizations. Why is this, well my prior career encompassed my life, yes 24/7 365, and there was little time for anything else to focus. With that said, my passion is bringing the family back together and family first. Immigration, endangered species or abuse are all admiral causes, but the first cause is family. They are bringing a class through the process of the power of social media, television, computer time and the loss of family communication and dinner time. They could also bring this social experiment home and become the activist to bring the family together for a time. This way they could feel, hear and overcome obstacles.
As a teacher, we can teach our students to become activist through our lesson plans. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has a 10 step process https://www.adl.org/education/resources/tools-and-strategies/10-ways-youth-can-engage-in-activism These ten steps to engage students can crossover between many subject areas. In elementary schools, a lesson plan could be developed around a topic the students have an interest in, whether it is within the school, community or world. The use of survey’s totals (math), posters (Art, communicating the concern), research and analyze (literacy, science, and math) and finally debate (social studies) to bring the whole process together. “Helping everyone identify his or her role within the group is perhaps more crucial than figuring out who is going to preside” (Borman & Borman, p. 160). When roles are excepted, then students become responsible for the whole of the group.
The meme helps bring teaching to life for me. As it shows that as an activist teacher I can help bring change and inspiration to a student. As Lauren states: “Start with those small insignificant steps. Take an interest in your students, affect change in their lives at school, advocate for their education, and watch your passion grow.” I believe as a teacher, my students will become part of my extended family. Therefore, I will be interested in them grow beyond the classroom. I would want to inspire them to change the world for the better.
When does being an activist teacher go too far? I think of the movie Dead Poet Society where the Professor challenges his students to think and question the establishment. What effect did that have on the students and the professor? How vigilant do we have to be with our students after we teach them to become activist?
Jay, I love that you've already pin pointed your passion and what you want to advocate for. I can completely relate to this, because I know how important families coming together can be for not just our students but us as well. It's such a great place to focus your time!
DeleteYou bring up a great question about how far is too far, and what our roles are in keeping up with our students as activists. I'm not sure that I have the best answers for you, and I definitely think this is something we'll have to learn as we go. However, I will say I don't think showing up for our students in positive ways in any manner is ever detrimental especially when they don't have other people who make the time for them.
Thank you so much for your insights and giving me more to think about!
Awesome post! Reading this and reflecting on chapter nine has been a thought provoking experience. I liked your point about ‘everyday activism.’ There is no question that students watch the adults in their world to see how they act and how they relate to others. This influence can be huge in shaping student behavior; however, I don’t think it is enough. Teachers may need to think bigger.
ReplyDeleteCulturally relevant teaching, as defined by Ladson-Billings (1995), includes the development of “cultural competence…[and] a critical consciousness through which they challenge the status quo” (p. 160). Is seeing a teacher always following the rules going to teach children to question the way things are? For Bomer & Bomer (2001), teachers function as brokers between students and an adult community. Teachers must “be involved in activist communities outside of school” in order to “create classrooms as spaces where people participate in democracy and take up social practices as part of their processes of thinking” (p. 155). If we want our students to question the status quo and passionately fight for equity and justice, we first must do that. In order to teach something, we must have deep knowledge of it. Just as you cannot teach addition or subtraction without first learning it yourself, you cannot teach children to be activists if you have not done it yourself.
Bomer & Bomer make it clear that there are many causes that teacher can take up—both within education and otherwise. You asked a good question when you wondered how to do this realistically while balancing the workload and time commitment inherent in teaching. I think the answer to this is finding something you’re passionate about. If you have a passion for something, you’ll find the time to do it. Whether your passion is increasing teacher pay or school funding, promoting green practices or the death penalty, you can find some way to become involved before brining your experiences—not necessarily your passion—into the classroom.
Thank you for such a thought provoking and insightful comment! I appreciate your viewpoint on this and completely agree that just modeling "good behavior" isn't enough. I guess my thought is that they seemed to down play the importance the little things like showing an interest in your students home life, taking up a collection for a student who needs new glasses but can't afford them, or making sure your student has a snack if they aren't getting enough food at home.
DeleteAlso, to my point about finding your passion I agree that before that happens we have to bring activism and our personal experiences into the classroom. I was more against the idea of activism for activism sake if that makes sense. As teachers of course we'll have a passion and desire to fight for our students, so I think Education and School reform is a great place to start. However, if you just take a cause to show your students you're doing it I don't necessarily think that would have the same affect or significance to your students as something you truly care about.
Thanks for engaging me further in the discussion I really appreciate your points!
I really enjoyed your thoughts on this chapter, great post! I agree with you, particularly that the students must come first. I had some concerns, still do, while reading through the chapter, regarding time and a teacher's priority/focus:
ReplyDeleteTaking up a cause and being an activist for that cause takes great passion and much time. If you are able to balance your time and stay focused and centered on your students, it would certainly be worthwhile and to share proudly. As a teacher activist, the passion and dedication to make a change in the word would most definitely become a driving and inspiring factor and something the students could and would want to model. The learned “habits and impulses”, skills ( reading, writing, communication, reasoning, patience, debate), and work ethic Bomer and Bomer discuss activists develop are very important. These are certainly things that could/should be brought into the classroom and would definitely benefit the students. However, when we, as humans, are passionate enough about something that it drives us to become an activist – especially as an activist as laid out by Bomer & Bomer – that balance of time between our cause and students and our student centered/focus could easily shift/disappear.
“We can’t do everything; we have to make choices about where we put our time and energy,” (Bomer & Bomer, p. 157) The concern for me, to the extent of that Bomer and Bomer describe as being a worthy cause for one to become an activist (the passion, the time, and the overall involvement), is a teacher could lose sight of the student. The teacher could become so consumed with advocating for their cause, they allocate less and less time and thought to/for their students and preparation/planning. Again, to take up a cause and become an activist is a great thing, but in a manageable and balanced capacity. Bomer and Bomer suggest, at least how I read it, more along the lines of a managerial type role. Where even if you delegate responsibilities, you are leading or overseeing the entire social action process, the entire workings, meetings, coordination, logistics, and the entire group itself. To that extent, I find it hard to imagine, at least for most people, that those activities and responsibilities wouldn’t consume the time and mind-space (if that's a word) of the teacher. In that case, although the teacher’s engagement in social action is intended to be beneficial for and a model for the students, to positively affect them and inspire them to become activists themselves and to fight for social justice, it could have the opposite effect. If the teacher puts the students secondary, the students will pick up on this and feel less and less valued. The teacher-student relationship(s) will be strained and the reasoning, from the students perspective, would be the cause itself was more important to the teacher than him/her, the student.
Thanks for your comment Austin! That's a really interesting point that I don't think I really came across while digging into this article. The idea that a teacher could become so consumed with another cause that they are passionate about that they lose sight of the time, energy, and compassion they should be giving to their students. That brings to question that maybe when we become activists we should focus on what changes need to happen in the communities that directly affect our students. Maybe before going for the big issues we start small on how we can help the environment of the cities our students live in or make sure there are safe and productive places for them to meet, play or spend time outside of school. This is definitely something I would want to dive into as I get to know my students.
DeleteThanks again!
Lauren, this is a great blog post! I really enjoyed reading your thoughts on chapter 9, especially on the importance of modeling behaviors that will impact our students and how even small steps towards advocacy are critical to teaching our students justice and critical consciousness. I believe having passions outside of the classroom that you are able to advocate for will educate your students on worldly topics and further promote having a passion for controversial topics. As Chapter 9 reflects, “to create classrooms as spaces where people participate in democracy and take up social action as part of their processes of thinking, we need to be involved in activist communities outside of school” (Bomer & Bomer 155). I think this idea relates perfectly with Ladson-Billings concept of critical consciousness as students must identify with cultural competence but also (I believe even more importantly) engage in critical consciousness in order to create change and promote social justice.
ReplyDeleteIn addition, I loved your comment on how advocacy must be passion-driven because of how much time and energy must go into it. I think if we are going to be good role models for our students and promote activism and critical consciousness we must be willing to make time for both our passion towards outside issues as well as equally dedicating our time to the needs of our students within the classroom. One part of the reading I found especially insightful was when the author talked about identifying a purpose to your passion and how it “is too often skipped by people eager to get on with the changing world” (Bomer & Bomer 160). I reflected on this idea a lot because I think it’s become so important to take a stand but people who don’t identify a purpose for their advocacy before committing often don’t see as positive results and thus aren’t beneficial for both the advocate as well as the students that are watching. I think the most critical part of being advocates and demonstrating the importance of critical consciousness to our students is identifying why we are passionate about the subject and understanding that change doesn’t occur immediately and we must take the time to stand up for our beliefs.
Sam I really liked when you said,
Delete"I reflected on this idea a lot because I think it’s become so important to take a stand but people who don’t identify a purpose for their advocacy before committing often don’t see as positive results and thus aren’t beneficial for both the advocate as well as the students that are watching."
This made me think of how important it is to define the why of what you're advocating for, and do have a clear idea of the change you want to see whether it's global warming, education. etc. I feel that if you aren't firm and have strong ideas about the "why" and "what" you can become burnt out or distracted from your end goal. I definitely feel those would be important things to model to your students.
Thanks for your comment!
Bomer and Bomer insist to teach students to be activists teachers must have first been activists. Rachel parallels this nicely with the ability to teach addition and subtraction requires having first learned it yourself. Where I seem to have a hang up with chapter 9 in Bomer and Bomer is the notion that being an activist teacher calls for something grand, a cause that will change the world.
ReplyDeleteI believe being an activist teacher doesn’t necessarily mean taking on the world’s greatest challenges. That it can be ‘everyday activism’ as Lauren put it. Being a role model and leader; getting involved in the community by way of developing relationships; being fully invested in/to your students; and becoming an advocate for your students. It could just be me … I might have read it wrong, but, I feel as though Bomer and Bomer, at least to an extent, trivializes these aspects of a being a teacher. Chapter 9 seems to say that these are all important, but it’s not enough. You (the teacher) must do something greater – you must be a role model and leader by way of a grand activist cause; you must get involved in the community by way of generating movements that will lead to massive change; and the like.
I believe being an activist teacher (can) means being an advocate for the students, first and foremost, as well as their community. If that leads me to a greater cause to become involved, a group or movement, that would be fantastic. But what if it doesn’t? (At least to the extent that Bomer and Bomer suggest). In Ladson-Billings (1995), she states that “These fluid relationships extended beyond the classroom and into the community. Thus, it was common for the teachers to be seen attending community functions (e.g., churches, students’ sports events), and using community services (e.g., beauty parlors, stores)” (p. 163). If we, as teachers, are actively engaging within the students’ community and building relationships with our students and their parents, guardians, siblings, relatives, community leaders, etc. And actively involved and making it a point to attend our students’ extracurricular activities or big life events -- Is being involved in the community and in our students’ lives in this sense enough? I guess this where I felt a disconnect from the Bomer and Bomer text while reading. Again, I might have interpreted it differently.
"Thus, it was common for the teachers to be seen attending community functions (e.g., churches, students’ sports events), and using community services (e.g., beauty parlors, stores)” (p. 163). If we, as teachers, are actively engaging within the students’ community and building relationships with our students and their parents, guardians, siblings, relatives, community leaders, etc. And actively involved and making it a point to attend our students’ extracurricular activities or big life events -- Is being involved in the community and in our students’ lives in this sense enough?"
DeleteI really resonated with the part of your comment. I absolutely agree with this idea and think it's incredibly important for our students to see us caring about and being active/involved in their community. I feel like this example could be a great way to show activism right where they are. Not that you shouldn't touch on the big issues is that's where you are lead or want to affect change, but I think forgetting about your communities and schools in that process would be a disservice to the students.
I really like how you brought up the idea that students watch teachers and how they act every day. Students do look up to teachers for guidance and as role models. It is our job as educators to make sure our actions are reflecting our own beliefs and values. I think that Bomer and Bomer bring up many great examples of how we can be an activist for our students without making giant leaps. I think Bomer and Bomer bring up a great concept to agree with your thoughts. “We need to stop searching for tidy solutions to ethical and political problems, such as ‘classroom management,’ and embrace these problems as the complex, human, social processes they really are,” (Bomer & Bomer, p. 158). This quote reflects your ideas about starting with small steps and processes within the classroom and be a great model for them in ways we might not seem to be that impactful.
ReplyDeleteI also wanted to touch on the idea of connection we have spoken about many of times. I think connection and taking the time to know every one of our students is the foundation for being an activist for them. Besides larger issues like funding and resources, how do we expect to know what our students need without getting to know them? The more we connect with the students, the more we are able to be their voice on certain matters.
I completely agree with your comment:
Delete"I think connection and taking the time to know every one of our students is the foundation for being an activist for them."
Throughout our courses when we've talked about connection I feel like this is the common thread that flows through everything we have learned. It's also what resonates with me the most because I am an incredibly relational person, so it makes since to me that the first and most important thing we can do is get to know our students, their families, and communities as best we can. If we're not willing to take that time to really invest in them on a relational level I think we're missing the mark!
Thanks for sharing, Tori!
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DeleteI agree that getting to know our students is crucial in knowing how to be advocates for them. I believe that as we get to know them, we will see passions coming to the surface, and issues will become apparent that we need to act on. I think it's just as Lauren stated: "Without passion for the issues you take a stand for you most likely won’t be an effective activist." Let me explain it like this: you can want to be involved, know something is an issue and even take action, but only when an issue becomes personal (is evident in your classroom) can you truly become passionate about it. Again, I'm not saying you can't be an advocate for issues that don't apply to you personally, I just believe that you will do far more in the process of social action if you are truly passionate about the cause.
DeleteLauren, thank you for the excellent post! I would also argue with David Chura. Teachers need to be activists and fight the “big world” issues but I think he was spot on when saying how we as teachers act in the “every-day world” is “even more profound” than us advocating for the bigger issues. Just like our “Core Values” from Dr. O’s class, these values have to be on display 24/7. Our students will notice our behavior and more importantly how we treat other people. I know that my first-year teaching will be all about the students. Your post has made me think a lot about how I want to get involved in students lives. For myself, it was always sports that played a significant role when I thought of my favorite teachers. And what stood out about them was that they were the only teachers that I got to know outside of the classroom. Next to my father, some of them were the more prominent male figures in my life and I realize how important this can be to students and the different lives they have. I hope as I grow more as a teacher that I will take on more ambitious goals and fight for what is right. I can honestly say that until this program at IUPUI, I never thought about myself as an activist outside of the classroom. So, it makes me think of where I begin when I feel passionately about something to take action.
ReplyDeleteHow does an ordinary teacher with no background in political action or revolutionary activity of any kind become an activist?
According to the website https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/teacher-activism-education-reform/ Cult of Pedagogy, learn about the issues. The first and most crucial step toward getting active is learning about the issues themselves. Second, find a network. You don’t have to start from scratch: All over the country, groups have already been hard at work advocating for change. Linking up with one will immediately give you a lot of options for getting active. And third, gather support. Acting alone is risky, especially for teachers. So before taking any kind of public action, find others in your school or city to stand with you.
Doug, thank you so much for sharing an example of how your teachers showing up for you outside of the classroom has impacted you. I think it's so important for us to reflect on these experiences we've had or maybe missed out on. It allows us to determine what sort of things we should mimic for our students, and maybe ways we need to do better if our experiences weren't so great!
DeleteI also love that you shared a source for how to get started with activism. I feel like those are such great starting points and definitely beneficial for those of us who are overwhelmed by the idea of activism. I can't wait to dive in to the website your recommended.
Lauren, your blog post reflected many of the same thoughts that I had when reading the chapter. As someone who has decidedly tried to stay away from the news and politics (I blame the over-saturation of opinions on social media that cause fight after fight), I am realizing that I've removed myself from being a true citizen of the world and from advocating for my true passions. I would love the opportunity to explain what I just typed to my classroom as a cautionary tale: To not be offensive, I silenced my voice. And that isn't going to change anything.
ReplyDeleteI have discovered through working in a public school as a Title 1 Assistant that I am truly passionate for public education and the need for public schools. The trend in schooling today (as far as I can tell in my circle of influence) is homeschooling, un-schooling, and private schools. People see that education, as it is set up today, is standards and test driven. However, I see many teachers attempting to push back, even if it is just in their individual classrooms. I know there is much that needs to be improved. But I don't believe pulling kids from public schools is the answer.
I know I can do much more to be an activist in this area. However, I don't even know where to begin! Any thoughts?
Lauren I really liked your post! It made me self-reflect on my experience and imagine the type of activist I want to be in my classroom. Your argument "that modeling these behaviors for our students will greatly impact how they interact with the world and how they should expect the world to interact with them." is such a great argument. Simply stating that you are an activist or advocate for someone or something is not enough. Modeling your beliefs for your students and showing them the outcomes of activism will greatly impact their views and involvement in social justice. I want to be a teacher who models my activism to my students and shows them the outcomes. This quote from chapter 9 "If we really want to improve the life chances of children, it's no good staying in our rooms.” (Bomber and Bomer, 157) really supports showing our students the outcomes of activism. Being an activist teacher isn't easy, but modeling your beliefs is a simpler way to show you are an activist and an advocate. If you can relate to your students, they will want to learn from you and imitate you. Actively modeling your beliefs is a powerful tool for activism and is key to empowering your students to fight for social justice.
ReplyDeleteYour questions "What causes are you passionate about?" and "Was there a specific experience or event that brought you to your passion?" really made me self-reflect. Growing up as a white, middle-class male, in a very white, middle-class city, my scope of the world was very narrow. I knew inequalities existed and always was a big believer in equality, I never really had an idea of what it looked like. I also never had a passion for anything. It wasn't until going to an extremely diverse college and taking sociology courses when I really understood equality and how important social justice is. Your quote "Without passion for the issues you take a stand for you most likely won’t be an effective activist." Without passion you can not be a true activist. Like in my first paragraph, simply saying you believe in something is not enough. One cause that I am passionate about is advocating for those who can not advocate for themselves. For that past year and a half I have worked with children with special needs. Many of them who can not talk. When I worked in a school, our Special Education program did a lot of work with General Education students showing them that children with special needs have certain disabilities, but are also very similar to them. I would talk with Gen Ed students and talk to them about these things and I would have them interact with the Special Ed students. I would explain to them that sometimes people can't talk or expressing how they feel is hard, so being patient and understanding is so important. This is one passion of mine that I want to continue and bring into my classroom.
Both articles for this week discuss the need for teachers to be activists. Paris makes the point that it is not enough that social issues are relevant to you and you respond to it as an educator. You must put culturally relevant practices into action on an ongoing basis. Failure to do so is tantamount to asking students outside of the dominant culture to leave their lifeways at the door of the classroom. It signals to students that they must adopt the customs of dominant culture to be successful. Bomer and Bomer find that educators are obligated to add their voices to discussions about social justice issues to model social activism for their students.
ReplyDeleteLauren makes the point that students are watching your behavior, so you must lead by example. Engaging the students in discourses surrounding social justice issues demonstrates to students that these issues are important. Class discussions can serve as models for how approach these subjects and offer opportunities for students to explore their thoughts and form positions as well those of their peers. Bomer and Bomer argue that teachers must take their activism out of the classroom and into the community. They offer ideas for how to go about this task that we can all utilize in the classroom. While the demands on teachers’ time is daunting, modeling social activism demonstrates to students that what we do matters, and we can make a difference.