Every movement has to start somewhere. For the #RedForEd teachers who rose up in Arizona this spring, it began with Twitter and T-shirts. A conversation online between an outspoken music teacher and the head of the Arizona Education Association led to an idea: What if teachers wore red shirts to school in a show of solidarity for increased pay and school funding? Before too long, educators were holding demonstrations outside their school buildings. They began strategizing about demands. And in April, the #RedForEd movement pulled off a weeklong teachers' strike, closing schools across the state for the first time in Arizona history. Governor Doug Ducey, relenting to one of their main demands, gave teachers a 20 percent pay increase to take effect over the next three years. The movement suffered a blow when the Arizona Supreme Court knocked the Invest in Ed initiative from the ballot in late August. But don't count #RedForEd out yet. Teachers have vowed to support pro-education candidates at the ballot box in November. As it turns out, this year the most important lesson for Arizona teachers was a crash course in direct democracy.