| Educational Alternatives Program |
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| The Educational
Alternatives Program offers political education workshops for local youth
groups and high school classes on issues that impact young people and
our communities. Our workshops use interactive exercises that help young
people draw on their everyday experiences to develop a deeper analysis
of power and oppression. See below for a description of all fourteen workshops. These empowering workshops are taught by young people from SOUL’s Teaching Collective, using popular education methods. If you want to schedule one of these workshops at your school or community group, call (or email) Liz Derias at 510.451.5466 x317. For more information about the workshop process and fees, please download the workshop contract. To meet the needs of your particular group, we will work with you to tailor an already existing workshop. Even if you don't know what workshop you need, call us and we'll assess which workshops are most suitable for your group. Or if you want to run these workshops yourself, you can purchase one of SOUL’s Political Education Workshop Manuals. And you can go through SOUL’s Training for Trainers to improve your skills as a facilitator. EAP Workshops: [ See sample curriculum from PE Workshop manual ] • Exploring Identities This is SOUL’s most introductory workshop that covers the basics of identity and community. Through sharing their own experiences, participants will discuss stereotypes, divisions between communities, and the systems of oppression. • Pyramid of Power This introductory power analysis workshop examines power in our society – who has it, who does not, and why the system is set up this way. • ... And the Rich Get Richer This workshop is filled with interactive exercises that break down economics in an easy-to-understand way. The activities are based on the participants’ daily experiences and include an understanding of how wealth is distributed in the United States and how economic inequality happens. • Attacks on Communities of Color: Racism in the U.S. This workshop talks about racism as it affects young people of color on 3 distinct levels: institutional oppression, interpersonal oppression and internalized oppression. Participants will also create a vision for a society free of racism. • Sisters and the System of Sexism This workshop uses participants’ experiences as well as current statistics as a foundation to understand what women face under the system of sexism. The workshop also includes a look at women’s resistance to sexism and how we can continue this legacy. • Homophobia: What It’s All About This is an introductory workshop that covers the basics of homophobia, starting with definitions and exploring misconceptions and stereotypes. Participants will use personal experiences to understand the effects of homophobia on the daily lives of GLBTQQ people. • Understanding Disability Oppression This is an introductory workshop that examines the system of disability oppression in our society. Through definitions, brainstorm, and scenarios, participants will understand what disability oppression looks like and how we can fight it. • Introduction to Organizing This workshop breaks down organizing as a specifically important way to fight for justice. Participants will examine victories won through organizing as well as how organizing can build long-term change in our communities. • Campaign and Strategy Development A follow-up to SOUL’s much-requested “What is Organizing?” workshop. This is a “how-to” workshop for young people interested in building a campaign around an issue in their community. This workshop goes though the step-by-step process in an interactive way. • Our Histories of Struggle This workshop connects the struggles of our communities today to our legacies of struggle. We draw on past movements – the Young Lords Party, the American Indian Movement, the Black Panther Party, the American Indian Movement, and the Struggle at the I Hotel – to learn out legacy of resistance. • Environmental Racism, Environmental Justice This workshop breaks down the connection between race and environmental destruction and how communities of color live under daily environmental racism. Participants also look at environmental justice as a vision for change. • The Prison Myth This workshop breaks down the dominant myths about the prison system in this country and explores the truth behind these myths. Participants will also examine the effects of these myths on our communities. • What’s Going Down in Our Schools? This workshop invites participants to draw on their experiences in school to understand the way the school system is set up – who benefits from it, who suffers under it, how it works, and why it works like this. • Globalization: Locally and Globally In this workshop, participants will have the opportunity to understand globalization as it pertains to people of color living in the United States. We cover structural adjustment in the Third World through an interactive exercise as well as what structural adjustment looks like in communities of color in the United States. [ See sample curriculum from PE Workshop manual ] |
