Civic literacy in schools and communities : teaching and organizing for a revitalized democracy / Brian Charest ; foreword by Kevin K. Kumashiro.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Foreword / Kevin K. Kumashiro -- The role of teachers and the purpose of schools -- What's my job, again? -- Teaching matters : embracing different ways of knowing, being, seeing, and doing centering civic and community engagement : the promise of democratic participation in schools and communities : key strategies and ideas for doing school differently -- Building a relational culture : the power of relational pedagogy for teacher engagement in schools and communities -- Life in schools : educating teachers -- Collective possibilities : envisioning healthy and sustainable schools and communities -- Relating is relational : how to rebuild institutions and communities by building better relationships -- Education and Inequality : why schools haven't solved our social problems -- Marching toward the light : working across social boundaries -- Making the road by walking : accountability on Chicago's South Side -- Rebuilding the school : community approaches to school improvement -- Institutional resistance : different views of accountability -- Accountability reconsidered : students and teachers acting together -- Community power : a look back -- Accountability to community : learning through action -- Changing social conditions : final reflections -- Models for change : community as curriculum and the promise of democratic schooling -- Why we need grassroots school reform -- Grassroots curriculum : the power of place -- Indigenous leaders : community organizing and teacher organizers -- Community as campus : community action councils and the shaping of a school -- Democratic Schooling : the Nova project -- Making citizen teachers : educational leaders for justice and democracy -- Rethinking teacher education -- Citizen teachers and the democratic potential of schools -- Surviving the war : what will it take to change our schools and communities? -- Citizen teachers and the challenges to teaching differently -- Teaching on the boundary -- Possible futures : democratic practices and community engagement in schools -- The limits of Alinsky and the promise of grassroots organization.

"Because many of our schools fail to address the health and well-being of both students and their communities, teachers and teacher educators are in need of a revised vision for teaching and schooling-one that is committed to civic and community engagement where we see school and community building as reciprocal, not separate, projects. This vision of schooling places the health and well-being of individuals and their communities at the center of the curriculum and sees partnership and collaboration with communities and community and democratic revitalization as a central goal of education. Teachers need specific strategies and ideas for reviving our democracy and revitalizing communities-strategies that I have learned from community organizers and then used to guide me in my own journey as a teacher and a teacher educator (e.g., building intentional relationships, organizing listening campaigns, integrating and valuing local knowledge, teaching democratic practices, giving students choice and agency in school, exploring who we are and what and how we know, examining our intellectual and ethical commitments, mapping community assets, holding relational meetings, creating community engagement councils, working directly with community-based organizations (CBOs), organizing accountability sessions with public officials, working to create healthy and sustainable spaces, running voter registration drives, co-creating curriculum with students, marching, protesting, participating in public arts, etc.) (Catone, 2016; Warren, 2005)"-- Provided by publisher.