The Guerilla Teachers Handbook Part 1 by Espiritu Makiguchi
(Mensaje se repite en Español)
(For a national view of public education reform see the end of this blog post)
The term "Guerrilla" is Spanish for "little war." It originated in the Napoleonic Wars. The French took over Spain. A "Guerrillero" was a soldier in the Spanish Rebel Army. However, during the Battle of Puebla, in Mexico, the French met a new soldier. This soldier did not fight in the conventional style of standing in straight lines and firing volleys of rifle fire at each other until one side dominated. This soldier hid in the bushes, behind rocks, inside buildings, up in trees and any other convenient hiding location. The attack would occur after careful planning, and the proper respect for time. The tactics employed by guerrillas date back to the ideas of Sun Tzu who wrote The Art of War. In this book he demonstrates how your small group could beat a larger army. He argued that you use your carefully planned and timed strength to exploit the weakness of the enemy. In our case, it is the small cadre of teachers versus the vast resources of LAUSD and school districts like it throughout the country. This is intended to give you a heads up regarding the disgusting tactics public school
The Guerilla Teacher's Handbook Part 2 by Espiritu Makiguchi
(For a national view of public education reform see the end of this blog post)
Tactics employed by Public School Administrators
One of the first tactics you will see (as a target of the administration) is the increase in correspondence with you principal. You will begin to see notes appearing frequently in your mailbox. They are like little psychological bombs meant to ruin your day. You will see notes saying things like: I have a concern about this.... I would like to speak with you about ......... I have some questions about something I saw you do, please come to my office...... etc. They usually want to meet with you in a couple of days so that you can allow this unpleasant feeling to sink in.
Another tactic is the use of the white envelope. A white envelope will appear in your mailbox. In it you will find a