Whatever your interest, there are some very basic grassroots organizing principles that can make your effort more effective. From the Grassroots Activist's Handbook, which is designed to help organize environmentally focused activism, but contains useful advice for all types of efforts. The Handbook identifies these essential elements:

• Decide on the goal of your campaign.
• Assess community attitudes.
• Have a spokesperson.
• Do your homework.
• Find an angle that motivates people to take action.
• Build your campaign on a sound foundation.
• Create a well-designed one-page overview of your effort
• Learn to use media effectively.
• Seize unexpected opportunities.
• Be Prepared for public meetings:

Here are some additional resources for public education activism:

*Oregon Education Association: Become an Education Activist:
http://www.oregoned.org/
*Public Eye : Organizations Defending Pluralist Modern Public Education
http://www.publiceye.org/research/directories/edu_grp_defend.html
*And a list of "education activist groups" at http://www.politicalindex.com/sect10.htm#7

For school choice, you may find these resources helpful:

*The Citizens Guide to Education Reform
http://www.schoolchoices.org/index.html

*The Alliance for School Choice
http://www.allianceforschoolchoice.org/home.aspx

For Home Education

*Check out this great Homeschool Diversity Project idea, for introducing yourself to legislators
http://www.homeedmag.com/blogs/groupnews/?p=163

*How and Why Homeschoolers Should Be Involved in Local and State Politics
http://www.vahomeschoolers.org/pdf/involved_politics.pdf 

*Education Policy Primer for Homeschooling Families
http://giftedhomeschoolers.org/articles/edpolicy.html

*A good article at the National Home Education Network website
http://www.nhen.org/nhen/pov/editors/default.asp?id=81

And don't forget to make liberal use of our Civic Resources and our Voter Guide to help you learn how to contact legislators, write letters, and connect with resources, organizations and other individuals who can help you make a difference!

For Student Activism

The Freechild Project has created a Youth Voice Toolkit , a resource for Youth Voice activists and practitioners around the world.

The Freechild Project Youth Voice Toolkit includes:

   * Youth Voice Glossary
   * Assumptions about Youth Voice
   * Principles of Youth Voice
   * Keys to Youth Voice
   * Cycle of Youth Voice
   * Guidelines for Youth Voice
   * Honoring Youth Voice
   * Youth-Adult Relationships Sprectrum
   * Cycle of Youth Voice
   * Discrimination Against Youth Voice
   * Myths About Youth Voice
   * Youth Voice Assessments

There is also an extensive collection of resources and other tools. Explore it
at http://www.freechild.org/YouthVoice

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The Freechild Project
http://www.freechild.org