For the 2022 Summer Collaborative, Teaching Is Political: Advocating and Organizing for Social Change, Radical Pedagogy Institute will invite 20 New Jersey area educators to gather at Rutgers University Newark. During the Collaborative participants will research issues related to the current political landscape as it pertains to education (e.g., Critical Race Theory Bans, Teacher Shortage, Trans Sport Bans, Voter Suppression), learn organizing strategies to fight injustice, and develop and receive feedback on plans to enact organizing strategies and take direct action to fight injustice in their local communities.

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Cost: $150 (or $250 for Summer Collaborative + year-long Institute membership)

Time: 10 AM – 4 PM, with a light breakfast provided to participants each day at 9:30 AM and a one hour break for lunch on your own.

Location: Rutgers University – Newark

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Program Objectives

Our objectives for the 2022 Summer Collaborative are to use our community infrastructure to provide New Jersey area educators 1) space and resources to research injustices they wish to address in their local school communities, 2) training in organizing strategies and tactics to address injustice, and 3) support in planning and enacting advocacy and organizing tactics to address a local issue of injustice of their choice. We also intend to provide continued support to these educators with check-ins throughout the year to assess their progress and any areas in which the larger Radical Pedagogy community might lend support to their advocacy and organizing efforts.

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Why Sign Up?

2021 was a tumultuous time for PK-16 education, with a record number of trans bans introduced in state legislatures and attacks on Critical Race Theory (CRT) and the teaching of power and privilege in schools. This occurred in the midst of a global pandemic that is still ravaging local communities, resulting in an unprecedented shortage of teachers in US PK-12 schools. NJ communities have not emerged unscathed. Politicians introduced bills to ban CRT in schools and to prevent transgender girls from playing on sports teams that match their gender identity. NJ’s gubernatorial race, in which a candidate made CRT a core issue, was a close call. Newark activists continue to fight for access to clean water. Individual school districts have introduced book bans.

Rather than address the root causes of the NJ teacher shortage (e.g. dehumanizing conditions, micro-management of educators’ practice, over-policing of BIPOC students, mandates without training or time for implementation), NJ has sought quick fixes such as lowering the hours required to become a substitute teacher. This has left many teachers feeling powerless and dejected. The Collaborative will be a space of rejuvenation for these educators, help them acquire skills to fight back against injustice, and thus allow them to possess greater agency within their local contexts.

Contingency Plans

Given the ongoing and unpredictable nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have set aside an alternate schedule should the Collaborative need to go virtual. Should the Co-Directors of Radical Pedagogy Institute deem that it is unsafe to meet in person, the Collaborative format will be changed from a 4 day in-person event to a more spread out 4 week virtual event. If moved to a virtual format, participants will meet Tuesdays and Thursday 2 PM – 6 PM ET from July 11 to August 4, 2022. Should this change in format be necessary, participants will be notified one month prior to the Collaborative.

COVID-19 Considerations

Should the Collaborative move forward with our in-person plans, masks will be mandatory for all participants and facilitators.