A colleague and I discussed issues related to teacher voice, choice, and leadership. I noted that I had often advocated for change on my own with little success, and now I was finally learning about the power of organizing. Organizing essentially is the act of working together to make positive change. Organizing is the reason why we have unions--we have unions so that we can work together to make the kinds of change and policies that support the good working conditions we need to effectively do our work in any profession.
When lots of people go it alone to make change the path to good change becomes confusing, scattered, and difficult to follow. Good change gets lost without good organization, and that's why organizing is a powerful means of effecting promising policies and change.
I have a lot to learn about organizing. I wonder why it has taken me so long to get to this point of learning--why didn't I understand this before and why haven't I been fully integrated into organizing efforts in the past. It will take some analysis to figure this out, but in the meantime, I'm ready to learn and I have many colleagues ready to teach and learn with me.
This summer I've signed on to learn more about effective organizing at the MTA Summer Conference. I hope to use what I know to contribute to local and state organizing efforts to make the kinds of change and policies that will elevate supports, services, and opportunities for children and families in our schools and states. I'm not looking back to the lost years in this regard, but instead looking forward to the opportunity this learning holds for better teaching and learning.
