More About the Book

The Pedagogy of Teacher Activism was made possible by the support and collaboration of a great many people. Below, learn more about two individuals and one organization whose contributions to the book were vital.

Foreword by Leigh Patel

Lisa (Leigh) Patel is an interdisciplinary researcher, educator, and writer.  Her work addresses the narratives that facilitate societal structures. With a background in sociology, she researches and teaches about education as a site of social reproduction and as a potential site for transformation. In addition to her insightful analytic mind, Leigh's interest in and support of teacher activists in the Boston-area and nationally made her an exciting choice to offer her opening words for The Pedagogy of Teacher Activism. Her commentary on the refusal of teacher activists to succumb to society's contradictory chasms between word and deed (theory and practice), provides apt metaphor for the boundaries, borders, and breaches that she spans over the course of her impressive academic and activist work.

Cover Art by Rudy Bravo

The idea for the painted portraits that bless the cover of The Pedagogy of Teacher Activism started as a casual conversation between Keith Catone and Rudy Bravo. College classmates at Brown University (class of 2000) who both taught high school social studies in New York City public schools, Keith and Rudy each went on to study the art and science of portraiture--Keith as an education researcher and Rudy as a visual artist. Seeing the connections between Keith's research and Rudy's art, and with the support of Sophie Appel (Design and Production Supervisor at Peter Lang Publishing Group), the portrait painting project was developed. Thanks to the coordination between Rudy and each of the teacher activists featured in the book--Rosie Frascella, Natalia Ortiz, Kari Kokka, and Lisa North--the beautiful paintings pictured on the book cover were created. 

NYCoRE & Teacher Activism

Founded in 2012 by a group of six social justice teacher activists from the Bronx and Brooklyn, the New York Collective of Radical Educators (NYCoRE) has grown over the past 15 years to provide important space for educators from across NYC to connect, learn, reflect, and act in pursuit of educational and social justice. As the organization's mission states, "NYCoRE is a group of current and former public school educators and their allies committed to fighting for social justice in our school system and society at large, by organizing and mobilizing teachers, developing curriculum, and working with community, parent, and student organizations. We are educators who believe that education is an integral part of social change and that we must work both inside and outside the classroom because the struggle for justice does not end when the school bell rings."