Bay Area Radical Teachers' Organizing Collective Records, 1969-1974

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Summary

Creators:
Bay Area Radical Teachers Organizing Collective
Abstract:
The Bay Area Radical Teachers’ Organizing Collective (BARTOC) was a small collective of Bay Area teachers, active from October 1969-1974, committed to providing alternatives to the conventional curriculum of the time. The collection contains correspondence, a written history of BARTOC, meeting minutes, materials used to produce their brochure (No More Teachers Dirty Looks), a log book, workshop outlines, writings, lesson plans and flyers. The collection also includes periodicals, ephemera and photos. Many of the periodicals and newsletters are examples of rare leftist publications from the time period, including national and international sources.
Extent:
7 cartons (7 Cubic Feet)
Language:
Collection materials are in English.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Bay Area Radical Teachers' Organizing Collective (SFH 459), San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library.

Background

Scope and content:

The Bay Area Radical Teachers’ Organizing Collective (BARTOC) was a small collective of Bay Area teachers, active from October 1969-1974, committed to providing alternatives to the conventional curriculum of the time. The collection contains administrative papers including correspondence, a written history of BARTOC, meeting minutes, materials used to produce their brochure (NMTDL), a log book for the resource center, a sexism workshop outline, and writings about their funding. It also includes a writing sample, lesson plan and flyers. BARTOC’s Resource Center provided support to teachers in their community and operated as a lending library. The files contained in the Resource Center series include lesson plans, background reading, writing samples, flyers, pamphlets, and other ephemera. For the most part, periodicals, newsletters and monographs were collected into a series of their own but some still remain in the Resource Center files. Many of the periodicals and newsletters are examples of rare leftist publications from the time period, including national and international sources. The collection also contains a small number of photos that were likely used to produce NMTDL.

Biographical / historical:

The Bay Area Radical Teachers’ Organizing Collective (BARTOC) was a small collective of elementary and secondary Bay Area teachers active from October 1969-1974. BARTOC was committed to providing alternatives to the conventional curriculum which they viewed as imperialist and racist. They viewed school culture as subversively programing kids to be automatons and saw themselves as teaching more than skills and subject matter. They believed teachers should cooperate with other teachers and students as comrades and partners and viewed the administration as the enemy. The group’s founders received a Vanguard grant for $1000 which allowed them to provide three key services to local teachers. They published a small magazine titled No More Teachers Dirty Looks (NMTDL) which received a positive reception, they operated a resource center on Sanchez Street with a substantial library, and they presented teacher workshops. In 1974 the collective disbanded when their grant funding ended and irreconcilable differences divided the members.

Custodial history:

Donated by Tim Lennon on September 29, 2009.

Processing information:

During processing both the original order and folders were retained as much as possible. Loose materials were placed in acid free folders and interfiled with the rest of the collection.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged in 4 series: Series 1: Administrative Papers, Series 2: Periodicals, Newsletters and Monographs, Series 3: Resource Center Files, Series 4: Photographs.

Physical location:
Open for research. The collection is offsite and advance notice is required for retrieval. Material must be requested at least 4 business days in advance of visit.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

The collection is open for research and available for use during San Francisco History Center hours. Photographs are available during Photo Desk hours. This collection must be requested at least 4 business days in advance of visit.

Terms of access:

All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the City Archivist. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the San Francisco Public Library as the owner of the physical items.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Bay Area Radical Teachers' Organizing Collective (SFH 459), San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library.

Location of this collection:
San Francisco Public Library
100 Larkin Street
San Francisco, CA 94102, US
Contact:
(415) 557-4567
sfhistory@sfpl.org
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