Online Mind Power Reads V. 1 March 29, 2007

Thank the gods for Google putting big chunks of books online…

Walking The Road: Race, Diversity and Social Justice in Teacher Education
“Marilyn Cochran-Smith guides the reader through the conflicting visions and ideologies surrounding educating teachers in a diverse democratic society. Mapping the way to reconceptualizing the problems in teacher education today, this volume spells out the problem of teacher preparation as both a learning and a political problem.”

Schools and Social Justice
“Through an analysis of the educational systems of Europe, North America and Australia, the author concludes that social justice is fundamental to a good education. Connell’s thinking is firmly rooted in the experience of the classroom: if the school system deals unjustly with some of its pupils, the quality of education for all is degraded. He calls for “curricular justice” rooted in a democratic framework, capable of opening the perspectives of the least advantaged, and thereby moving toward the creation of a more equalitarian society.”

Feminism and Social Justice in Education: International Perspectives
“Gathers together notable educators from five different countries to examine contemporary feminist politics and practice in education. It presents a response to recent developments in education and feminist theorising and the restructuring of educational provision.”

Equality and Inequality in Education Policy: A Reader
“Discusses the history and gendered nature of education policy and the impact of policies on practice in education. The articles represent a range of views and approaches to education, demonstrating the complexity of educational experience and the influence of class, race, culture and gender.”

What Keeps Teachers Going?
What helps great public school teachers persevere—in spite of everything? Sonia Nieto, a renowned teacher educator, takes a close look at what can be learned from veteran teachers who not only continue to teach but also manage to remain enthusiastic about it. This inspirational volume provides much-needed advice on how some urban teachers are solving the everyday challenges of student learning. Nieto collaborates with experienced teachers in urban schools who are especially effective working with students of culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds–students who are among the most marginalized in our public schools. Offering an alternative vision of what’s important in teaching and learning, Nieto concludes with an urgent call to advance new national priorities for public education.

* Teaching as Evolution
* Teaching as Autobiography
* Teaching as Love
* Teaching as Hope and Possibility
* Teaching as Anger and Desperation
* Teaching as Intellectual Work
* Teaching as Democratic Practice
* Teaching as Shaping Futures
* Final Thoughts: What Keeps Teachers Going in Spite of Everything?

There’s even a lengthy Wikipedia entry on Teaching for social justice

Teachers, creativity and social justice March 27, 2007

I’ve been thinking a lot about teachers lately…how much I miss being inside of, and how deeply I care for the work taking place in, the classroom each and every day. I simultaneously stand in awe, respect, and envy of those of you who are with our students, day in and day out. You are all heroes in your own right.

Aaron & I started Mind Power Collective with a vision of connecting educators and bringing who we are as people to our profession. All our originality, creativity, passion, ingenuity, intellectual determination and fierce dedication sometimes gets lost in the grind and shuffle of the school’s structured chaos.

Currently, I am brainstorming a thesis/possible dissertation topic around how the intersection of creativity and the arts with developing authentic teacher relationships can promote pedagogic self-actualization in order to achieve greater social justice and equity in our school systems, particularly as these relate to policy and assessment of teacher and student will, skill, knowledge and capacity. A mouthful? Yes…but perhaps this blog can help unpack these ideas as a place of reflection, for resources and we hope, interesting dialogue.

I look forward to you joining in….

Social justice unionism March 27, 2007

From Rethinking Schools Online, Volume 9, Number 1, Fall 1994

A Call to Action
Social justice unionism cannot be implemented in a top-down fashion. Nor can it be just words on paper. It will require both enlightened leadership and rank-and-file mobilization.

It will mean learning to teach in new ways; restructuring local union activities in new ways; reaching out to different communities in new ways; and building alliances at both local and state levels. It will require the national unions, perhaps one merged national teacher union, to provide leadership to build a national movement for social and economic justice.
Classroom and Building Level

For classroom teachers, social justice unionism might mean changing their methods of teaching so that they draw on students’ experiences; developing alternatives to tracking, ability grouping, and antiquated forms of assessment; and embracing anti-racist, anti-bias approaches. Teachers and other workers most concerned about educational reform should demand that their unions facilitate that reform.

At the building level, social justice unions would move beyond the role of “information pushers” whose main presence is newsletters stuffed into mailboxes, to an expanded role that helps develop the capacities of members to participate in school restructuring and all union activities. School-based union committees or chapters might promote staff development activities, encourage site-based governance that would allow staff and parent decision making at the school, and push for the creation of structures and the freeing up of time for collegial dialogue and support. Such union committees could help mobilize members to advocate for progressive perspectives within the union, and, when working in concert with parents, advocate for the school as a whole before the administration and school board.
Local, Community and State Level

Internally, members need to demand changes in union structures and policies, so that democratic discussion is encouraged, training programs are available on labor/management relationships, pedagogical matters, and reform issues, and so that newer teachers feel that the union is an important part of their school lives.

Externally, a social justice union should be a public advocate for the needs not only of school staffs, but of public education, school restructuring, and most importantly, of their students and their communities. Such advocacy ranges from political action and coalition building to membership education.

Given the increasingly difficult straits facing public education, building alliances on the local and state levels is particularly important. Unions should build ongoing relations with organizations and communities to fight for equitable and adequate funding for schools, progressive school reform, programs to increase the number of teachers of color, and social initiatives such as universal health care, progressive tax reform, housing, jobs programs, and so forth.

Welcome…. March 27, 2007

Here’s to the opening entry of the Mind Power Collective blog…starting small and growing the vision large. This is just the beginning…