When the All-Chicago Tenant Alliance was in its early days (it was called NSRA then), Cat’s Cradle helped us straighten out our objectives. The organization had been stuck in a kind of morass after the pandemic set in. It began as many other tenant unions did in the United States, as a means for tenants to defend their interests against the landlord in the context of mass layoffs and the stoppage of wages (rent). But 1.5 years in or so, we had not been able to successfully organize anything besides two or three people who kept the group chat open. Otherwise, the organization had a name but it had no activity. 

When we fell in with Cat’s Cradle, our outlook began to change because we recognized two things: that we needed to develop our techniques of organization and, what goes hand in hand with this: we needed to work to harden our core of committed organizers so that we were in agreement not only politically, but with respect to our techniques, or level and frequency of activity, our responsibilities to each other, etc. It was obvious to us then that this would all rest on education.

We began meeting with Amy and CC about once every two weeks online, and we would do a session of what they call ‘drilling down.’ This is something like an interrogation of the organization’s current problems and the discovery of their basic elements. With these elements, exercises were then developed for the organization to run together. For example, one of the earliest problems we wanted to think about were the problems of lack of trust, not working well together, and thinking inside the box or lacking creativity. We devised an online session for ACTA’s members called Rat In The Chat.

At the end, we evaluated the way that we communicated, analyzed the results and criticised them on the basis of the problems we were investigating. So the entire group reflected on its creativity, trust and its ability to work together.

This exercise is memorable because it had a strong influence on the ideas of the members of ACTA. It showed them quite clearly that education can (or should) go beyond what is commonplace in organising settings, such as reading and discussion. It also opened up a whole new field of subject matter that could be considered suitable for ‘education.’ In other words, it exposes the importance of organizations developing themselves, and puts this task on an equal footing with the objectives that organizations take for granted: organizing campaigns, doing demonstrations, outreach and recruitment, propaganda, etc.

Exercise- and problem-based education have become central in ACTA, now. From the way we structure our meetings, host public events, communicate with tenants, all of these incorporate exercises of this style. At our weekly meetings, members rotate in the responsibility for bringing an exercise, with the explicit objective of this work being educational.

Several years later, ACTA is a successful organization. Not only has our core group of organizers tripled, our broader membership has grown 7 to 8 times what it was. More importantly, we are organizing tenants in the most precarious and oppressive situations in our city. On the westside we organize in the African-American neighborhoods and have a couple unions which are now established, most notably one called the Parkside Terrace Alliance. And on the northside of Chicago, we have found a base of Mexican immigrant tenants, exemplified in Fuerzas Inquilinos de Broadway y Cuyler who are making national news for their rent strike. The educational techniques learned with Cat’s Cradle have been instrumental in the development of these unions. Although Cat’s Cradle has successfully proliferated its methods and is now being practiced by a dozen people in ACTA, we are still in communication with Amy and she has been very generous with her continued advice and support. 

I arrived in Dundee in late 2023 with a passion for community development but no clear idea where to begin. When I was introduced to Amy and Cat’s Cradle and got familiar with the organisation, I felt a sense of possibility. However, I didn’t yet know how transformative the experience would be for me, both as a tutor and as a learner.

“Often we think our struggle is novel and singular. But meeting with various people from various backgrounds under a single topic and seeing we all share the same pain increases empathy, liberation and togetherness. In spring 2024, we held a session on Workers’ Unions. Around the table sat Scottish elders, youth, people from North Africa, West Africa, and beyond.”

From the start, Amy and her colleagues didn’t just “allow” me to express my views; they actively encouraged it and would often seek my opinion and perspective regarding the workshops we were planning. In our meetings, they listened with genuine interest, making it clear that my input mattered to the progress of the workshops. This was empowering, to know my perspective could shape a space. I saw that same value extended to participants. The workshops were built around conversations. Using prompts such as photos, videos, and excerpts, Amy and the team would gently nudge people to share their stories and knowledge. By the end of a session, we would be surrounded by a mountain of shared experiences, each contribution adding to the whole. This approach was particularly powerful for participants from backgrounds where freedom of speech is restricted; it offered them a glimpse of another way of living, where voices are heard and respected.

Cat’s Cradle also shifted my understanding of how learning spaces can be designed. Before this, my own education experience had been shaped by centralised, one-size-fits-all models. While this has its pros, it definitely also has several cons. With Cat’s Cradle, I saw a different philosophy at work, as Amy once said to me, “Make the school not feel like a school.” People learned at their own pace and in their own style, and it carried everyone along. This is critical because a lot of the topics we cover could seem intimidating to certain audiences if not approached carefully. I admit I was sceptical at first. I remember preparing for a workshop with Amy and thinking, “This is never going to work.” But I was wrong. It worked beautifully and I am glad about that.

Perhaps the most personal impact was discovering my talent for facilitating and educating. Amy, in her subtle way, drew this out of me by assigning roles that matched my interests. My first time coordinating a session on Africa, I was nervous, wondering why I’d agreed to it at all, but with the team’s support, I found myself directing the conversation with ease. That moment planted a confidence I now carry into every teaching role.

The programme also broadened my worldview. Because often we think our struggle is novel and singular. But meeting with various people from various backgrounds under a single topic and seeing we all share the same pain increases empathy, liberation and togetherness. In spring 2024, we held a session on Workers’ Unions. Around the table sat Scottish elders, youth, people from North Africa, West Africa, and beyond. We shared our struggles and dreams, each unique yet strikingly similar. I realised that while our contexts differ, the desire for dignity and a better world is universal. That recognition deepened my empathy and sense of solidarity. 

Over the past year, working with the Cat’s Cradle team has transformed how I think about impact, teaching, and the sharing of knowledge. As a professional tutor, I now approach every course with a heightened awareness of inclusivity, creativity, and the diverse ways people learn. I am more confident in my skills, less hesitant to use my voice, and more committed than ever to creating spaces where others feel empowered to share theirs.

The support that Cat’s Cradle has given us over the past 4 years in relation to the progression and empowerment of young people in our programmes has been transformative. Barriers to accessing meaningful education for Roma youth are many and complex, resulting in many Roma youth disengaging from education, leaving school feeling like it is not for them and excluded. Informal education opportunities, creative and conformity-challenging techniques that Cat’s Cradle employ in their work with the young people have had a profound effect, teaching them that not only can they meaningfully engage in and enjoy learning opportunities, they can even teach the material to their peers, supporting the next cohort of Roma youth.

Over the years, Cat’s Cradle has collaborated with us in a variety of impactful ways, including—but not limited to—delivering workshops on workplace rights for Roma youth, training a young Roma person to co-deliver those sessions, and leading a radical pedagogy workshop that brought together Roma youth and third sector human rights professionals to learn about radical pedagogy and practical techniques.. Across all of these initiatives, Cat’s Cradle has consistently used innovative, participatory methods that make Roma youth feel supported and valued as contributors. The young people were especially engaged by techniques such as Theatre of the Oppressed, which helped them see that learning can be both empowering and enjoyable.