Teach-ins are great ways to combine education and action. You can present information yourself or bring in others to present; allow time for a discussion of the issues with the audience; and give participants an action to take at the end.
Here are some tips for holding a teach-in:
- Be sure that the location is accessible to the community. The space doesn’t have to be formal, but should be large enough that your group can have space to work on the action activity.
- A member of your group can open the session with an introduction that gives information about the group that organized the event, the type of activities that you have been working on, and background information on the issue. If you have a speaker that you are hosting, the intro can be short, telling a little about the group and introducing the speaker.
- Afterward, even if you have a hosted speaker, allow for questions and then try to link the issues that were raised in the talk with an action that participants can help with. You can also work an “action brainstorm” into the discussion section of the teach-in. Having a letter-writing table at a teach-in is a great way to educate and then give people a way to translate that knowledge into action.
- Have a sign-up sheet available for those interested in getting involved. For information on speakers, please see Hosting a Speaker.
