Description
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.
Background
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.
Extent
7 cartons
(7 Cubic Feet)
Restrictions
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.
Availability
The collection is available for use during San Francisco History Center hours, with photographs available during Photo Desk
hours. Collections that are stored offsite should be requested 48 hours in advance.