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Tonight and tomorrow, as Educators get those memos and emails, saying you CANNOT “get POLITICAL” in your classrooms consider this...(thread)
You are human, not a machine. you do have a heart, and a moral compass, and deep values.
For the poor, the brown, the immigrant, the women and trans folx, every damn day is POLITICAL. they ain’t worried about politics.
Do you know who is scared of talking about politics? Folks in power. Folks with generational wealth, Stolen. Folks that see the tide is changing. They are scared about talking about politics.
Why do these memos come out when real life is taking place, and we have the opportunity of being culturally responsive, and using critical pedagogy? When there’s content to use.
You do have privilege. What will you do with it? You may have experienced hardship and overcome obstacles. What will you do with that privilege now?
It does seem that these reminders happen to always come when they can prevent us from building any sort of a coalition of educated, critical thinking, empathetic, mature, loving people.
Who benefits from your neutrality. Your inaction? Who suffers?
Schools and institutions have always been political places, places that promote at a political, often conservative and status quo maintaining agenda. ALWAYS. but now it’s a problem? Ok.
Our students live in a political charged world. To not give them places to think discuss and dream almost certainly maintain the status quo.
Our textbooks, standards, and curriculums are very political, far from neutral, and told by often victorious oppressors. What does that make you?
I promise you, that in red states, they are not telling the teachers not to be political. They are actually attacking any centrist, liberal, or radical, teacher for threatening their strong hold. They ain’t sending no memos.
But folks want us to double think our own thoughts. Second guess our own intuition. Doublethink.
Our system wants to make sure that we are not inciting our students. Inciting them for what is the question? Something they deserve? Dignity? Humanity? Equity and access?
You were marching in June. What you gonna do tomorrow?
Will you show actual images of what happened? Will you talk about how you feel to show students you’re a human and not a robot? Are you going to create space for students to talk about some thing that actually matters?
These memos will have you believe that neutrality and compromise are virtues. False. Coz the oppressed do not want any compromise with their oppressors. They want freedom. They want liberation. They want dignity. There’s no middle ground with that.
I say again what will you do tomorrow? How will you show up? Will you avoid the uncomfortable conversation?
I remember signing some sort of document when I got hired at a past school district, declaring that I was not connected with the communist party. What’s that about? There are lots of ideologies and political parties and philosophies, but what’s that about?
Your students need you. To create space for their healing. create space for their learning.
Educate. Activate. Liberate.
