I would say all good things come to an end, but this school year has by far been the most difficult year of my career and I'm not sad it's over.
Is work I plan to continue this week and next. Documenting my thoughts and wonderings and discoveries here.
Last weekend: Roots of Racial Injustice
For this on I just took notes on my thoughts, quotes that stood out and my responses. Megan Francis- a UW professor.
Stop and Frisk laws and the police unions that support them have no place in civil society. The thought that someone can be sitting outside their own home and handcuffed without due cause amazes me. It has never been a fear of mine to sit on the front stoop of my home. That's privilege.
"Fixes that do not address the root cause of the issue are not really fixes at all"
-I feel like right now everything feels so reactionary to me. It feels like a band-aid. Most news outlets are talking about solutions for a problem that they don't understand. There is momentum now, there is opportunity to do this right, but there is also opportunity to slap on a band-aid and find ourselves back hear again in 50 years.
"Not a few racist bad apples....the whole apple tree is infected" The whole tree not being just the system of police but all of us. Society as a whole.
Monday:Intersectionality Wars
When people tell me they don't like the word intersectionality my initial thought is similar to what is described in the opening of this article. "You realize that the lived experiences of some are vastly different to your own- harder than your own, but you don't want to do anything about it, because it would interrupt your planned programing, your norms, your structures".
Through the article it seems that no on is disputing that intersectionality is a "thing" but rather some seem so overly concerned with the burden it will place on them or society to shift the impacts of the intersections.
I would say (imo) that the burden is on all of us. As a women with an invisible disability, I experience the world differently than a women with a visible disability or a women without a disability.
I educate children who come from all backgrounds who all experience the world differently, some with more privileges than others. All with some level or privilege as they attend a top school with opportunities and levels of support not afforded to many students in this country. As a special education teacher especially intersectionality is part of my daily work. I recently read an article on how Black and Lantinx individuals are under diagnosed as Autistic and are 5.1 times more likely to receive a conduct disorder diagnosis. This means they miss out on the supports that their peers are getting and are more likely to be seen as a threat or aggressive because of that diagnosis. Intersectionality of Race and Disability article.
T-TH Struggled failed, struggled more.
Friday: Advocate for De-escalation training in police force. - Additional Advocate for full staff de-escalation training so that all staff are able and trained to support students so we don't need cops in schools. -Also Educating myself on Juneteenth.
Week notes in general
Monday- The goodbyes have started. Union meetings are coming to an end all while summer work and master schedule stuff ramps up. I basically work 12 months a year but get paid for 10. I try to take a week or two off in the summer but that's about all I get.
Tuesday- Said goodbye to one of my Alg 2 classes and my academic skills class. In academic skills I highlighted the ways I saw each student grown and learn during closure. It was wonderful to get to be so connected they turned on their cameras. We all said goodbye.
Followed by....
All things graduation. I knew come rain or shine I would be part of student graduations. Today I felt like a whole human. I complete person. It was amazing to see their faces, say goodbye and a few current students were there with their siblings so it was great to see them too.
Wednesday: I don't normally teach any classes on Wed but I was really looking forward to some of my last 1:1 meetings with students. Unfortunately my health had other plans. For about the last 3 months - basically right before we went into quarantine, my digestive issues spiked. I have trouble eating, I rarely handle 3 meals a day, and am very weak as a result, struggling to stand or walk for long periods of time. Graduation yesterday completely drained me. I've been avoiding clinics due to the virus, but today had enough of not having control over my body and scheduled an appointment.
That all to say I didn't get any of those last meetings with students and am very grateful for the quality of goodbye we got on Tuesday.
Thursday: Every class always has those students that impact your life more. But it's been years since I've had an entire class be so perfect. Not in the sense that they all got As or had perfect behavior all of the time, but in the sense that they always tried. They were always engaged in learning. Every single student in this class took every exam during closure. They all worked to improve their grades from earlier and focused on how to make the most out of a bad situation. They were always there to support their peers the amount of natural and unprompted group work that occurred in this class when we were in the building was amazing. Students felt safe enough to ask their peers for help and likewise peers were kind in providing support without issue. They were a loud and charismatic bunch, that made 7th period end on an uplifting rather than totally drained note, as it totally could have being an Algebra 2 class at the end of the day.
Today I said goodbye to a co-teaching partnership that I have loved. That has made me a better educator. I have learned so much in the last 2 years. Next year will be different, but I will take what I learned from this situation and apply it to the future.
Friday: Meetings, grades, progress reports. Done!
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