Saul Alinsky had what he called the “Iron Rule.”
“Never do for others what they can do for themselves.”
How would following the Iron Rule change your organizing?
The “Iron rule”
May 4th, 2009 | strategy
Musings on organizing, faith, and politics.
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3 comments ↓
This applies to teachers, as well. One of my elementary “feeder” schools is a school of all special ed kids, where the kids are coddled, have nap time, and basically don’t do anything for themselves. I got two kids from that school this year. One was aching to branch out and he is thriving and soaring. Another misses being babied and still seems shocked when my para and I make him do things. I’ve said, “This is middle school, it’s different here” more times than I can count. This is a good mantra for a middle school though…I should Braille it and put it on their desks!
It makes sense. Organizing is about empowering people to make change, just like teaching is about empowering people to learn and take control of their life.
Coddling is the opposite of empowerment, a bad thing for an organizer or for a teacher.
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