In studying urban teacher preparation, I examine how school practices and organization influence teachers and students. To understand what goes on inside classrooms, we have to look at the welter of powerful influences within schools and outside their walls. Blaming “teacher quality” for unequal academic achievement is an ideological assumption with little evidence.

This same broader view explains why union officers are only as good as the movement that supports them. No matter how talented, smart, or radical an individual activist is, he or she must depend on the wisdom and courage of the movement she or he represents. Officers need to be directed and supported by members.

For that to happen, the union needs democratic norms and policies. Another way officers are supported and nudged is through a caucus. The NEA has semi-official committees that are called caucuses, and this has caused some confusion for teachers who are new to labor union activity.