(no subject)
* 17 are dead and more than 400 wounded in a horrifying explosion in Tianjin. Two fire fighters are missing and it is likely more will die of injuries. KIt's sounding like a double explosion staring in a warehouse containing something that blew up alarmingly well. There is also a toxic fume hazard causing concerns in the surrounding area.
* "Iran city hits suffocating heat index of 165 degrees, near world recor:" http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capital-weather-gang/wp/2015/07/30/iran-city-hits-suffocating-heat-index-of-154-degrees-near-world-record/
* Former President Jimmy Carter has cancer. It's bad.
* "Can Racism Be Stopped in the Third Grade:" http://nymag.com/scienceofus/2015/05/can-fieldston-un-teach-racism.html?mid=tumblr
I appreciate what they are trying to do, but I have some concerns about implementation, just from what is in the article. It sounds like they are working hard on the black/white racism issue, but are everyone's needs getting met? The complaint by the Jewish parent about getting left out sounds like a pretty important one, and that comment by the Asian girl about issues relevant to her life not getting addressed is something I've seen an awful lot of out teaching.
I can't speak to the program as a whole, because I'd need to see it in action and how the long term outcomes look. It's a first try and bound to be rough. I can only hope that they spend the Summer thinking about how best to improve.
Here are some thoughts I had reading the article. 1. That thing where one of the parents was in college and forced to basically half teach a class she was in and have to speak for her entire race? That is beyond not okay. When I was teaching one of the cardinal rules for teaching race based topics was never, ever to single out a child of that race and expect zir to explain things. It's cruel and it's lazy and a teacher who forces a child to represent their whole race is incompetent. You make a safe space to talk and let kids of any race who feel comfortable volunteer their stories and experiences if they feel like it, but never, ever expect or require them to. I've had a lot of really productive discussions done that way, and I've had kids ask a lot of really good questions.
2. Part of why I am so sensitive to the question of how well it is going outside of the black/white binary is because of all the time I spent talking to middle school kids about sensitive subjects. My districts were excellent on antisemitism and black/white issues, but only mediocre on issues important to the Latina/o and native children, and nigh useless to to my Asian/Pacific Rim students. We had a lot of students who were either of east or south east Asian decent as well as a sizable recent immigrant population from India. The only thing in the curriculum even vaguely relevant was discussion of Japanese Internment Camps, and that doesn't address this generation's issues or have any relevance at all o the children who's Grand parents or Great Grandparents weren't there. How does this help the children of Chinese decent, or the recent immigrant from India? So when we had discussions about racism in America I would try to open it out into areas like appropriation or so called "positive" stereotypes. This would invariable blow the minds of the white kids who were not used to thinking beyond civil rights era anti-segregation struggles and would have the Asian kids practically out of their seats with their hands up desperate to unleash rants they had been dying to unleash for years. All I ever had to do was open the space with the right topic and this incredible learning experience would open up because there were all sorts of things needing saying and discussing and thinking about that the standard curriculum didn't even consider. I think all the children were better for it. It was huge for the kids who struggled with micro-agressions, or assumptions, or appropriation to get support to talk about it. It was desperately important the white kids understood that there was so much more to learn about race in this country and that they needed to look a whole lot harder at learned attitudes and unvoiced assumptions they'd picked up from the culture without knowing it. What I was doing was in small doses, one teachable moment at a time in a fairly left part of the country. It was obvious to me that our curriculum wasn't going any where near far enough. It was well meaning, but it was too simple. Something better needs to be done. I don't know if the affinity curriculum is the answer, but I do know we need a lot more experiments and better ways to do what we've been doing. What we are doing isn't even close to enough.
* "A Cop Killed A White Teen And The #AllLivesMatter Crowd Said Nothing:" http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/zachary-hammond-police-killing_55c0e240e4b0c9fdc75dfda3?ncid=tweetlnkushpmg00000067
* Every time I think I have enough money to fix my shoes, another bill comes in. *facepalm* I thought there would only be one roma from the garden this year (It is ripening nicely), but a slow growing plant has come out with gobs of them! They are still green and small, but the shape is right! I'm still not handling the heat at all, and am a little freaked out about going out in it tomorrow, but I've no choice, I've got to pick up meds and drop off ebays. The two meds I absolutely can't miss a day on are the nebulizer and the omneprazole and I'm down to one day of little purple pills.
* Queering James Bond: http://lettersfromtitan.tumblr.com/post/125790093915/comtessedebussy-andythanfiction-kateordie
* Ebays, 5 auctions, 2 No Bid:
Bewildered in a Dream 2014 (LE, Ligeia): (Company says: A disorienting eddy of French lavender, black tea, orange blossom, sharp green tea leaf, pink flowering thorn, and a blot of inky resins). At shoulder.
The Traveller 2010 (LE, Bards of Ireland): (Company says: A wanderer, poised at the point where three great countries meet, ruminating on government, nationalism, religion, and personal character: boot leather, pipe tobacco, and the dust of soft resins, herbs, and soil-flecked gravel picked on long, solitary travels). 1/2 Full. http://www.ebay.com/itm/301709355383?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649
Lindworm 2012 (LE, DragonCon, Event Exclusive): (Company says: Smoky green leather smeared with crushed grasses and wild herbs). 3/4 Full. http://www.ebay.com/itm/301709360613?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649
Halloween In The Miskatonic University Library 2012 (LE, Halloweenie): (Company says: The silence was soothing, though, and the scent of the yellowed books and polished oak tables reminded me strongly of my childhood home. I found myself a table, and set to work.... His breath smelled like pumpkin lattes, and there was a faint trace of cologne swirling around him. He quoted Byron, I told terrible jokes, and in the end I nearly failed my paper, but I fell in love. Top of Label. http://www.ebay.com/itm/301709362964?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649
(Not So) Penitent (Mini) Magdalene 2014 (LE, Lilith): (Company says: Candle wax, smoke, red sandalwood, a dusting of kitchen spices, and a dribble of vanilla ice cream). Just below Shoulder. http://www.ebay.com/itm/301709364680?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649
Gingerbread Poppet 2010 (LE, Lilith): (Company says: Warm, cozy gingerbread spiced with nutmeg, clove and cinnamon). Below shoulder. http://www.ebay.com/itm/301709365994?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649
* A list of LGBTQA Charities to donate money to instead of seeing the racist Stonewall Movie that decided to portray a black trans woman activist as a cis white man. http://awkward0w1.tumblr.com/post/126399233673
* Want Game of Thrones without the creepy? We desperately need new players. We are very inclusive. "Game of Bones MUSH:" gobmush.wikidot.com
* Trying to stay afloat until September: http://www.gofundme.com/cuovws or Lethran@gmail.com
This entry was originally posted at http://gwydion.dreamwidth.org/550429.html. Please comment there using OpenID.
* "Iran city hits suffocating heat index of 165 degrees, near world recor:" http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capital-weather-gang/wp/2015/07/30/iran-city-hits-suffocating-heat-index-of-154-degrees-near-world-record/
* Former President Jimmy Carter has cancer. It's bad.
* "Can Racism Be Stopped in the Third Grade:" http://nymag.com/scienceofus/2015/05/can-fieldston-un-teach-racism.html?mid=tumblr
I appreciate what they are trying to do, but I have some concerns about implementation, just from what is in the article. It sounds like they are working hard on the black/white racism issue, but are everyone's needs getting met? The complaint by the Jewish parent about getting left out sounds like a pretty important one, and that comment by the Asian girl about issues relevant to her life not getting addressed is something I've seen an awful lot of out teaching.
I can't speak to the program as a whole, because I'd need to see it in action and how the long term outcomes look. It's a first try and bound to be rough. I can only hope that they spend the Summer thinking about how best to improve.
Here are some thoughts I had reading the article. 1. That thing where one of the parents was in college and forced to basically half teach a class she was in and have to speak for her entire race? That is beyond not okay. When I was teaching one of the cardinal rules for teaching race based topics was never, ever to single out a child of that race and expect zir to explain things. It's cruel and it's lazy and a teacher who forces a child to represent their whole race is incompetent. You make a safe space to talk and let kids of any race who feel comfortable volunteer their stories and experiences if they feel like it, but never, ever expect or require them to. I've had a lot of really productive discussions done that way, and I've had kids ask a lot of really good questions.
2. Part of why I am so sensitive to the question of how well it is going outside of the black/white binary is because of all the time I spent talking to middle school kids about sensitive subjects. My districts were excellent on antisemitism and black/white issues, but only mediocre on issues important to the Latina/o and native children, and nigh useless to to my Asian/Pacific Rim students. We had a lot of students who were either of east or south east Asian decent as well as a sizable recent immigrant population from India. The only thing in the curriculum even vaguely relevant was discussion of Japanese Internment Camps, and that doesn't address this generation's issues or have any relevance at all o the children who's Grand parents or Great Grandparents weren't there. How does this help the children of Chinese decent, or the recent immigrant from India? So when we had discussions about racism in America I would try to open it out into areas like appropriation or so called "positive" stereotypes. This would invariable blow the minds of the white kids who were not used to thinking beyond civil rights era anti-segregation struggles and would have the Asian kids practically out of their seats with their hands up desperate to unleash rants they had been dying to unleash for years. All I ever had to do was open the space with the right topic and this incredible learning experience would open up because there were all sorts of things needing saying and discussing and thinking about that the standard curriculum didn't even consider. I think all the children were better for it. It was huge for the kids who struggled with micro-agressions, or assumptions, or appropriation to get support to talk about it. It was desperately important the white kids understood that there was so much more to learn about race in this country and that they needed to look a whole lot harder at learned attitudes and unvoiced assumptions they'd picked up from the culture without knowing it. What I was doing was in small doses, one teachable moment at a time in a fairly left part of the country. It was obvious to me that our curriculum wasn't going any where near far enough. It was well meaning, but it was too simple. Something better needs to be done. I don't know if the affinity curriculum is the answer, but I do know we need a lot more experiments and better ways to do what we've been doing. What we are doing isn't even close to enough.
* "A Cop Killed A White Teen And The #AllLivesMatter Crowd Said Nothing:" http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/zachary-hammond-police-killing_55c0e240e4b0c9fdc75dfda3?ncid=tweetlnkushpmg00000067
* Every time I think I have enough money to fix my shoes, another bill comes in. *facepalm* I thought there would only be one roma from the garden this year (It is ripening nicely), but a slow growing plant has come out with gobs of them! They are still green and small, but the shape is right! I'm still not handling the heat at all, and am a little freaked out about going out in it tomorrow, but I've no choice, I've got to pick up meds and drop off ebays. The two meds I absolutely can't miss a day on are the nebulizer and the omneprazole and I'm down to one day of little purple pills.
* Queering James Bond: http://lettersfromtitan.tumblr.com/post/125790093915/comtessedebussy-andythanfiction-kateordie
* Ebays, 5 auctions, 2 No Bid:
Bewildered in a Dream 2014 (LE, Ligeia): (Company says: A disorienting eddy of French lavender, black tea, orange blossom, sharp green tea leaf, pink flowering thorn, and a blot of inky resins). At shoulder.
The Traveller 2010 (LE, Bards of Ireland): (Company says: A wanderer, poised at the point where three great countries meet, ruminating on government, nationalism, religion, and personal character: boot leather, pipe tobacco, and the dust of soft resins, herbs, and soil-flecked gravel picked on long, solitary travels). 1/2 Full. http://www.ebay.com/itm/301709355383?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649
Lindworm 2012 (LE, DragonCon, Event Exclusive): (Company says: Smoky green leather smeared with crushed grasses and wild herbs). 3/4 Full. http://www.ebay.com/itm/301709360613?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649
Halloween In The Miskatonic University Library 2012 (LE, Halloweenie): (Company says: The silence was soothing, though, and the scent of the yellowed books and polished oak tables reminded me strongly of my childhood home. I found myself a table, and set to work.... His breath smelled like pumpkin lattes, and there was a faint trace of cologne swirling around him. He quoted Byron, I told terrible jokes, and in the end I nearly failed my paper, but I fell in love. Top of Label. http://www.ebay.com/itm/301709362964?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649
(Not So) Penitent (Mini) Magdalene 2014 (LE, Lilith): (Company says: Candle wax, smoke, red sandalwood, a dusting of kitchen spices, and a dribble of vanilla ice cream). Just below Shoulder. http://www.ebay.com/itm/301709364680?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649
Gingerbread Poppet 2010 (LE, Lilith): (Company says: Warm, cozy gingerbread spiced with nutmeg, clove and cinnamon). Below shoulder. http://www.ebay.com/itm/301709365994?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649
* A list of LGBTQA Charities to donate money to instead of seeing the racist Stonewall Movie that decided to portray a black trans woman activist as a cis white man. http://awkward0w1.tumblr.com/post/126399233673
* Want Game of Thrones without the creepy? We desperately need new players. We are very inclusive. "Game of Bones MUSH:" gobmush.wikidot.com
* Trying to stay afloat until September: http://www.gofundme.com/cuovws or Lethran@gmail.com
This entry was originally posted at http://gwydion.dreamwidth.org/550429.html. Please comment there using OpenID.