Working groups function like affinity groups, this is where our organizing takes place. Here's a little information about each one.
Teacher Inquiry (TIG)
This teacher inquiry group is a grassroots form of teacher professional development created by the Education Working Group from The People’s Education Movement. Teachers from The People’s have created a space for themselves to develop a decolonizing pedagogy outside of the constraints of the traditional PD provided by their schools and districts. This inquiry group grapples with the ways teachers can apply the organizing principles of decolonization while working in schools that reproduce dehumanizing practices. To begin creating practical applications of a decolonizing pedagogy, this teacher learning community meets every 4th Saturday from 12pm to 2pm at a public venue in South LA. The sessions are split into 2 different segments. The first segment is where we spend time reading and discussing scholarly articles and the second segments is where we provide feedback to one another on units and lesson plans using a decolonial framework. For more information about meeting dates and readings please click here!
Goals
1. Explore critical & decolonial pedagogies
2. Refine political clarity
3. Share strategies and resources
1. Explore critical & decolonial pedagogies
2. Refine political clarity
3. Share strategies and resources
Wellness
The Health and Wellness Working Group's responsibilities are to create opportunities for community building within the People's membership and to coordinate accountability circles whenever necessary within the organization. In addition, the Wellness working group has been working toward the goal of finding readings, videos, organizations, and scholars/practitioners that can help develop our vision and clarity around "decolonial wellness." Over the past few years, we have been working toward promoting decolonial wellness within our selves, our organization, and the communities we serve. We believe decolonial wellness is a principal of reconnecting to land, to spirit, and to each other. Through reconnecting, we reclaim what has been stolen through colonialism. In order to counter the way that this knowledge (of healing and wellness) is often appropriated form its originators, decolonial knowledge of wellness practices must be accessible to all. Promoting and practicing self-care and prioritizing health and wellness subverts capitalist values that prevent people from manifesting their whole selves or knowing how to advocate for what is truly in their best interest.
Goals
1. Find readings, people, videos, other organizations, etc that help develop our vision and clarity around "decolonial wellness"
2. Create and facilitate activities that help build and support community within People's Ed
3. Become more integrated into the organization overall
1. Find readings, people, videos, other organizations, etc that help develop our vision and clarity around "decolonial wellness"
2. Create and facilitate activities that help build and support community within People's Ed
3. Become more integrated into the organization overall
Community Outreach
The community outreach working group seeks to build with community members in a genuine effort to build and sustain a transformative, decolonial educational movement. By developing an annual Summer Freedom School, we strive to develop enduring relationships with young people, parents, and educators to learn together and create a long-standing community school to serve as a model for autonomous learning communities.
Education
The Education Working Group is dedicated to supporting the collective political development of the People's. By hosting events like curriculum shares and talking series we are able to learn from each other and our larger community while informing the work of the People's.
Goals
1. Development and publication of decolonial curriculum book
2. Development of political clarity about teaching frameworks and current conditions of schooling/education
3. Support the facilitation of spaces that allow critical educators to meet and share resources of survival
1. Development and publication of decolonial curriculum book
2. Development of political clarity about teaching frameworks and current conditions of schooling/education
3. Support the facilitation of spaces that allow critical educators to meet and share resources of survival
