Be Radical & Join NNSTOY’s 2019 National Teacher Leadership Conference

In the present political climate, in which protections for our most vulnerable populations have been rolled back, many teachers are struggling to maintain their own motivation. How do we motivate and inspire in our current national context?

Perhaps the answers to this difficult question lie in a paradigm shift of momentum and energy. James E. Ford, in his compelling 2017 keynote at the annual conference of the National Network of State Teachers of the Year, a radical educator is one with a radical imagination. Ford is clear: there is no such thing as a culturally neutral, depoliticized, detached educational process. Any attempt to dislocate the social from the political will result in the erasure of our students’ experiences and the denial of their truth. 

So, what does it mean to be a radical teacher in the field of education? Who can claim to be radical, in the midst of the everyday demands of teaching?

A radical educator is one who addresses the current situation — in their classroom, school, district, state or nation — and looks at things not just as they are, but as they should be. Ford says, “When all hope has been lost, and you are in the midst of despair, the most rebellious thing you can do is dream... to begin to think about a reality beyond that in which you are entrapped.” As teachers, the best of us strive to build resilience within our students to keep them from losing hope.

In real life, hope cannot be sustained without equity - structures in place to ensure that every child has an equal chance for success. In education and society, equity is the measure of inclusion, achievement, fairness and opportunity for all citizens. Without true equity and equality, human beings flounder. Societies become socially and economically unbalanced. Schools fail, because they fail the children and families they serve.

So how does a radical imagination live in the school or classroom?  Dreams become reality when hope is united with a vision we can act upon. Ford compels us to ask the hard questions, to envision the change we wish to see, and then apply solutions wherever we can. To do this, we must be honest about the realities of institutional bias, and adopt a critical pedagogy within our classrooms and schools that critique and interrogate the systems and structures of power. As part of the educational process, teachers must speak forthrightly and galvanize their students with models for change because teachers are in the best position to speak up and speak out with conviction on issues that matter. To do this, we must commit ourselves to produce for our students an alternative reality, one that envisions a future in which the existing structures of our democracy are a scaffold for advocacy, transformation, achievement and equity.

For an alternative reality to exist within a learning community, children must participate through the lens of a democratic ideal, and make regular, thoughtful choices for themselves as individuals, and for the collective good of their community. 

We hope you’ll join us in this effort at NNSTOY and join our conference in Orlando, Florida next week. If not this time, then next and let’s connect in the meantime!

Igniting a Radical Imagination in Educators is the theme for the 2019 conference of the National Network of State Teachers of the Year, held in Orlando, Florida. Ready to heed the call of the radical educator? YOU ARE NOT ALONE! Come to commiserate and be inspired by like-minded educators who have created their own call to action! Your representation will be important, and welcome. Four problems of practice will be addressed and explored: Best practices in teaching and learning, Cultivating equitable schools, SEL for teachers and students, and the Future of education. 

More on Radical Teaching By - Joan Hurley, 2008 Connecticut Teacher of the Year