I've shared on here before that the most conservative thing about me is my commitment to, and defense of, the institution of school and public education. I spend a lot of time reflecting on that and sitting with it, organizing my thoughts. So... some thoughts.

I have zero interest in defending the worst of what school is. I'm interested in the best of what school can be. Because to me "school" is a place where adults bring children together to teach them stuff we think will help them human better.

That said, I deeply, deeply appreciate and value this thread from Shea. I try to orient myself towards the worldview they and @lizziefortin model. https://twitter.com/sheathescholar/status/1276160518814908424

I enjoyed the heck out of every second of the webinar on abolition teaching and will watch it again a few times. https://www.haymarketbooks.org/blogs/179-abolitionist-teaching-and-the-future-of-our-schools

But there are moments during it, to paraphrase Dr. Love, where I get all up in my feelings because I believe the idea of school is an amazing thing, worth fighting for. I don't want to abolish it.

And I wonder if I am missing key points in the argument or if I'm in my feels.

I've seen how American public education has empowered generations of White children to become White adults who feel they're/we're the center of the world. But. I believe we can redirect that energy towards anti-racist, anti-sexist, inclusive education.

I've seen how the work of professionalizing teaching and the standards have created checklists of 100s of skills students are expected to master. But. I believe we can use those structures to humanize mathematics, teach complicated history, complex literacy, and empathy.

But! I hear and understand Dr. Edwards. I can't see yet what she sees and I think, for now, that's okay. https://twitter.com/tracyrenee70/status/1276162686297026567

I can easily make equity-minded arguments for standards, for standardized tests, for a liberal arts education, for grade levels.

Against personalization, unschooling, and self-directed education.

And I sit in tension between pragmatism and liberation.

When I read about the history of school, I twitch at the idea of abolishing the thing so many fought for. (I'm 100% behind abolishing the police. Reading Angela Davis, The Marshall Project, and Mariame Kaba helped me get there. I don't think they're comparable constructs. YMMV.)

And then there's this. And I still sit with this a lot. https://twitter.com/JennBinis/status/1097496181930975232

But I don't know how we get to a place where White children learn they're not the center of the world without using formal structures like school.

I appreciate this point from Kaba ( https://thenextsystem.org/learn/stories/towards-horizon-abolition-conversation-mariame-kaba)

So, basically, I'm rolling all this around in my brainpan. And if you're sitting with it too, if the horizon isn't yet clear for you, feel free to sit with me. My DMs are open.