ABSTRACT
WE HEAR IT ALL the time: the work of teach-ers is exclusively the work that happens inclassrooms. Let the principals worry about the school; let the parents worry about the community; let the elected officials worry about policies, laws, and the many reforms coming our way. Indeed, the advice often given to a new teacher is to just shut the door and do your own thing, make your classroom the space where you can really have an impact on the lives and learnings of your students. The value of independence, of course, should not be underestimated; the autonomy of teachers is necessary if we are to tailor our teaching to the diverse needs and capacities of our students, as well as to the unique contexts in which we find ourselves. Nonetheless, the work of teachers does and should extend far beyond the walls of our classrooms: we are members of the community, after all-in fact, of many diverse and overlapping communities-and of families and the whole
society. We have a stake in the larger context and a responsibility to a wider public.
