Stephen Downes

This article uses the example of resistance in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area to make its point, but the message is relevant even without the political overtime. It describes the way large centralized organizations get all the press, money and credit for organizing in contrast with the important roles played by networks of small decentralized community groups that operate without funding and in relative obscurity. "Centralized organizations are easier to identify, easier to contact, and easier to evaluate using conventional metrics." We see the same dynamic play out in education where the large organizations take the credit and get the funding but where the real work is being done in quiet local communities without fanfare, often by people with the most precarious employment.