Changes?

Change is hard. No one wants to be the one to have to give up something so someone else can have a fair shot. Any time we perceive that we are going to be on the short end of the stick, we put up our defenses. Whether that is a change in services for our kids, an unfair coach, or a system that has failed our kids for years, we are naturally inclined to defend our own. Mama bear and papa bear always come out. There is nothing that can be done to stop it, but we really need to ask ourselves who are we serving? Is it our entitlement speaking? Our privilege? Maybe a bit of both? Are we, as Dr. King said,: "the white moderate who is more devoted to order than to justice"? If we do what we've always done, what is going to be the outcome?

I have spent the last month working with kids to help them understand the origins of the Civil Rights Movement in the US. Kids are amazing. Teaching them beyond the Georgia Standards to show what really happened is super important. According to the Georgia DOE, kids in fifth grade only need to know about Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Thurgood Marshall. These are the traditional black leaders that educators teach every February. By selecting only these individuals, we are saying we don't want to recognize that the Civil Rights Movement was truly a conflict that led to big-time changes in an organized and methodical way. 

So being the rebel that I am and building on my fearless ideas for the year, I jumped right in and taught the Rosa Parks myth to my fifth graders. She was not a tired, old woman who decided to stay in her seat on the bus because she couldn't stand up. She was actually a woman who was actively engaged in the planning and implementation of creating a situation that could no longer be ignored. I love working with 5th graders because they get angry for all the false history they have been taught. 
They ask questions and they want to know why the world works the way it does. As an IB school, we spend tons of time inquiring into difficult issues and developing a deeper understanding.

It's been a while since I've written a post because I've been a little disillusioned with the fight lately because the loudest adult voices around me have been extremely negative. However, then one child asks me "why can't we just learn the right history from the beginning?" and all of a sudden all is right with the world! Kids are going to be the ones that fix the world. We, adults, have really messed it up. I'm just thankful that I get to be a little piece of what they are going to accomplish.

The last few months have also been a period of discovery for me. I've been listening to new voices and reading lots of new books. Every time I come across a new voice, I am intrigued to dive into a conversation or study to determine if I can grow from the ideas. Most of the time I find a way to do it, but it's been really tough lately with many adults in the world. 

In the moments of frustration and anger, Tupac has often come into my head because it's so true. 

We gotta make a change
It's time for us as a people to start makin' some changes.
Let's change the way we eat, let's change the way we live
And let's change the way we treat each other.
You see the old way wasn't working so it's on us to do
What we gotta do, to survive.

Quick Sand

It was mid-March when the Teacher Monster finally made an appearance. I'm not sure what caused it. 5th graders showing their middle school side, too many late nights, or maybe I've finally reached the point where I'm just plain tired.

I recently presented the work that I'm doing with kids to help them understand that their voice has power and that power can be used to change circumstances and perspectives. After presenting information and feeling the power of using my voice to share our work, I was inspired. The potential for the work that can be done is huge.

But then, I listened for a few minutes. I heard a parent come to speak about an incident that occurred at the middle school. I heard another local resident of the NAACP speak about injustice and the speed at which things are happening.

And.......I'm knocked right back down.

To each individual of color..... all of this feels like the all deliberate speed mandate of Brown v. Board of Education

I see how people with huge amounts of money are paying for kids to get into college so they can party.....

Something has to give!

If we keep on doing the same things that have always done, we all must be insane (or at least that's how the saying goes).

Dealing with race and race issues in education is no easy task, but as I sit and listen to the people who are in charge I hear and see power to make changes.

One voice speaks in my head.....and in that voice.....I hear everything.....

...a 5th-grade girl "It doesn't matter what I do, the teachers at this school only believe the WHITE kids!"

Most teachers would be offended, but for me, it was a call to action. We cannot get defensive when talking about the issue of race. We have to be able to recognize that people of color are representing not only their lifetime experiences, but the experiences of their parents, and their grandparents, and great grandparents. The story of a black child at school is not isolated to the 13 years they spend in school, but also includes the life and experiences of their families. It is our system that is failing. Talking about race does not make someone racist.

Some people call me a social justice warrior, but I'm not. I'm a teacher, a mom, and a woman of color and I just want to make things better. I want people who are in the way to move and let me through.

So many people around me are stuck
...they've decided not to move so as to avoid sinking in the quicksand
...they've decided to move so much to avoid the topic that they are sinking
...they've decided that enough has been done
...they've decided to fight the change

My question......
Is it getting better
Or do you feel the same
Will it make it easier on you now
You got someone to blame
You say
One love
One life

Break the Spell

Scorpion Spellers

Delta Dragons