The semester wrapped up this week: I submitted my grades on Wednesday. The student project mapping garlic mustard turned out remarkably well. I have been dreaming of doing projects like this for several years (especially with respect to students in various parts of the work, AKA CUE/EKI).
I'm starting to see convergence between my union organizing activity and my teaching. A big part of my teaching, I realize, is trying to inspire students to action: to do something and for our interaction to be in the context of that activity. In our union local, we've been selected as part of a strategic directions initiative to move from a "service model" to an "organizing model", which focuses on the same basic idea: through personal contacts you help people discover that the things which aren't working well can be fixed and the union is an effective conduit toward accomplishing those goals. I've ordered a couple of books that look like they'll be helpful: Organizing for Social Change and Rules for Radicals. I'm also interested in thinking how these concepts could be applied to ELNA, which is faltering as a service organization.
- Steven D. Brewer's blog
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