Teacher Activist Course
Are you a teacher asking:
How can I be both an instructional leader and a teacher activist?
How do teachers organize with NYC communities for social justice?
What does the UFT have to do with social justice?
What is the history of public schools in New York City?
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Register today for Teachers Unite’s Teacher Activist Course! You can sign up for any combination of Sessions 1, 2, 3 and 4.
All sessions will be held from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the Support Center for Nonprofit Management, 305 Seventh Avenue @ 27th Street, 11th Floor. (PLEASE NOTE: Session 3 will begin with an informative walking tour about the history of public education battles in East Harlem! There will be no breakfast served so please come already nourished for the morning walk. PARTICIPANTS MUST MEET AT 10:00 am SHARP ON THE SOUTHEAST CORNER OF PLEASANT AVENUE & 116th STREET. Wear suitable walking attire. The group will take public transportation from East Harlem to the Support Center for NonProfit Management for lunch and the afternoon portion of the session.)
Lunch is served at all sessions. Except for Session 3, a light breakfast is served at all sessions as well.
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.
Facilitator: Doyin Ola is a queer and trans Nigerian refugee who has worked alongside other activists/organizers from queer, immigrant, and low-income communities in fighting to ensure people's ability to survive and their right to self-determination. Doyin has been a youth organizer with Make the Road by Walking, a teacher at Bushwick Community High School, as well as Welfare Project Coordinator at Queers for Economic Justice, where he co-founded Welfare Warriors – a community organizing group consisting of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans & Gender Nonconforming people with lived experience of poverty. Doyin has led community organizing and political education workshops for various communities and audiences, including youth, LGBT folks, low-income and people of color communities. Doyin has a graduate degree in Education, and is developing skills in video/digital media production.
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.
Facilitator: Doyin Ola (see bio above)
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.
PLEASE NOTE: Session 3 will begin with an informative walking tour about the history of public education battles in East Harlem! There will be no breakfast served so please come already nourished for the morning walk. PARTICIPANTS MUST MEET AT 10:00 am SHARP ON THE SOUTHEAST CORNER OF PLEASANT AVENUE & 116th STREET. Wear suitable walking attire. The group will take public transportation from East Harlem to the Support Center for NonProfit Management for lunch and the afternoon portion of the session.
Facilitator: Jessica Shiller is an assistant professor of education and coordinator of the master’s program in teaching social studies at Lehman College, City University of New York. Her research interests include urban school reform, social justice education, community activism and youth, and education policy. She has taught courses in urban education, foundations of education, social studies methods and history. Prior to becoming a professor, Jessica was a high school teacher in New York City public schools for eight years and then a mentor and coach for new teachers for the next five years. In addition to her current work, she sits on the board of Girls Career Workshop, a non-profit dedicated to building college and career opportunities for public high school girls, and is an activist involved in education and criminal justice issues.
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.
Facilitator: Megan Behrent
How to Register:
Teacher Activist Course sessions are free for Teachers Unite members.
Sliding scale registration fee per session for non-members: $25 - $75
Fees help us cover: Food, location rental, and materials.
Step #1 (for members and non-members)
Send an email to registration@teachersunite.net with your
• name
• choice of session(s)
• phone number(s)
• any questions you might have
Step #2. (For non-members only)
Click here to become a member of Teachers Unite for $50 a year, and take the Teacher Activist Course for no extra cost. -or-Please submit your registration fee at
or by sending a check made out to Teachers Unite to:
Teachers Unite
c/o Brecht Forum
451 West St.
New York, NY 10014
Sliding scale registration fee per session for non-members: $25 - $75
