Banning Media

A parent in St. Pete, Florida stated that the movie, Ruby Bridges, should not be shown in the elementary school her child attends because it teaches

that white people hate black people. I am a teacher but I have never taught at the elementary level. But I was taught was to respond to “teachable moments.” This is definitely one.

I was in elementary school in the early 1960’s on the south side of Chicago. And I cannot say if my parents or their friends hated black people but they didn’t want to live near them. We moved to the suburbs when I entered third grade. I remember one of my parents’ friends saying “those” people were moving onto our block. I was eight. I didn’t understand.

I also didn’t ask what that meant. That wasn’t done but I was confused.

I want to believe what the Florida parent means well. I really do. But I would take this opportunity to have a teachable moment.

Because in our present, the proof that people don’t hate each other is not there. I wish we had dealt with this much earlier in our history. But we didn’t. We moved forward and “papered” over our past. We never dealt with the horrendous history. We didn’t have time. We believed that our country was special, different than others.

Over time we have proved we are not. We are fallible human beings that make horrendous choices. We don’t want to look back because, deep down, we know we’ve screwed up.

I believe this is a teachable moment that is long overdue. Our history needs to told with all its warts. We must come to terms before we destroy ourselves. This has been a “both/and” moment for a couple hundred years. But we have not been strong enough. Not willing to examine ourselves. But now we must face our failures and move forward.

I teach college students now. Both young and old. Immigrant, persons of color. LGBTQIA and not. Many who are multiracial. And I can say that most of are. DNA can show us how alike we really are, deep down!

It’s reckoning day, everyone! Time to own up to our shortcomings and begin to live for the future. We are one little country on one little planet in one little galaxy. Time to heal ourselves.

Time to see that our differences are not that different. That we are better and stronger BECAUSE of our diversity, not in spite of it.

Time to see each other as the unique individuals that we are.

AND TO CELEBRATE EACH UNIQUE BEING AS PART OF OUR WHOLE. This is what makes us strong. It’s time to grow up.

Where do we go from now?

Where did we lose our optimism?

Lose our idea that the future would be better?

Lose that idea that JFK put into words?

Ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country?

The idea that we can go to the moon and beyond.

That we move forward.

That love is more powerful than hate.

That people are more important than “stuff.”

That we learn everyday from everything that happens

Everything is a lesson.

Life is transient.

We will all die some day.

This scares us.

We don’t WANT to die.

Wealth has become our goal in life.

WHY?

We can’t take it with us.

A loaf of bread that cost 25 cents years ago now costs 3 dollars.

Today’s bread is not better than yesterday’s bread.

We need to TALK to each other.

Where are we going?

What do we want?

How can we live with our mistakes?

How do we move past our errors?

How do we get “there” from “here?”

We need to change.

Our world needs to be revisited and revised.

There is no such thing as scarcity but there are those who amass wealth.

But having wealth is like sitting on a mountain of sand.

Wealth is fleeting.

The more you grab for wealth

The more you can lose your soul.

The only constant in our world is change.

Every day is something different.

Every thought is fleeting.

Every footstep disappears into the wind.

We will NOT get out of this world alive.

No matter how long you live,

You will die.

This is not morbid,

It is a fact.

We cannot outrun it, push it away, hide from it.

Sunrise, sunset,

Beginnings, endings

These are inevitable.

We fear the unknown.

We fear what fear what we don’t know

We are terrified of what we don’t understand.

We fear what is different from what we know

We fear those are different from us.

We have been taught to fear.

Instead of seeing difference as opportunity,

As a chance to learn,

To expand our thoughts,

To feel new feelings,

To embrace more people.

Society has taught us to be be terrified.

I must have missed that day.

I am rarely terrified.

I look at the new as opportunity, not pain.

I wander, I learn, I grow.

Always.

Our Collective Shame, Our Opportunity to Change

The Worst Thing We’ve Ever Done

I know many will not listen to this broadcast. Whether they agree or disagree. I have always used the excuse that my ancestors did not immigrate until close to the beginning of the 20th century.

Many of us do not realize that domestic terrorism has always existed in this country. We do not want to believe that our beginnings were based on these “evident truths” as well as the lofty goals that our founding documents put forward. The first set we have never acknowledged how pervasive they are. The second we have still not realized.

Does that mean we should now vilify our ancestors for their failings? I don’t know. I can say that people AFTER Reconstruction, who allowed the legislation of “black equals less than” to become an integral part of our history need to named and shamed.

The massacre in Tulsa, the lynchings that happened across our country, not just the former Confederacy, the idea that color determined social and economic progress. These things need to be brought into the light, taught in schools and trips to places like below need to be put on everyone’s list of places to visit and learn from, integrated into our United States History classes.

Our current president said in his speech yesterday that people want to “indoctrinate” our children. We DO indoctrinate our children. We teach them about the sanitized, pretty history that all of us were told in schools. The “acceptable” parts of history that show us in the best light and make us proud. If we are the appropriate people.

We ignore the mistakes we have made along the way. They say each generation rewrites history to suit it’s own needs. It is true. We gloss over stuff that upsets us, scares us and makes us think about “icky, yucky” stuff.
It is time to face our fears. We must face our fear. We must allow it to pass through us. We must examine it. And then we can turn an inner eye to see it’s path through us. And I hope we can all see, that where the fear has gone, ONLY WE WILL REMAIN.

WE WILL BE STRONGER, AS A COUNTRY, AS AMERICANS. AND WE WILL BE UNITED AND STRONGER THAN EVER BEFORE.

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We are all Human, aren’t we?

This is a very interesting way that we can work to heal our country and ultimately the world. Listen to the entire podcast. I have always said we need to talk about the “icky, yucky” stuff before we can ever try to move beyond our “original sin.” It is long past time. Power for everyone is power multiplied to the point where all can rise.
This, combined with the Emmanuel Acho video I posted the other day, give our nation a starting point. Let’s take this starting point and move FORWARD into the country our ancestors imagined, even if they never imagined where we were are at this moment. All of us came from somewhere else originally. Most came voluntarily, many did not. Those forced to come here start way behind the starting line. Even when the barriers are removed, they are already behind. Because we have all moved forward.
A staggered start race is never judged by who crosses the finish line first. The human race is not even a race, it is how we treat each other. This is what ultimately determines a successful life. Not how much money you earned. Not how many material goods you have amassed.
An examined life is a successful life. Will you leave the world a better place than you found it? Will every person you have ever encountered remember you with a smile on their faces? Our individual lives are too short. Life fully, live well and above all, move forward to the examined life.

Resmaa Menakem
‘Notice the Rage; Notice the Silence’

Is History Irrelevant?

We have tried to regulate history as not important in the 21st century. Books published at the beginning of the century talked about the end of history. Thomas Friedman said the world was now flat. 

History is not about the past. It’s about how we adapt to change. 
Everything we have ever done causes us to react in ways that affect our future.  
We are an amalgamation of our experiences, both personally and collectively. How we raise our children, what our priorities are, are all based on our individual histories. 

Our society has evolved from how our ancestors dealt with everything. Whether we perpetuated positive or negative policies, expanded or contracted government, how our laws work or not. Our entire legal system is based on precedents (that’s history). 

History is complicated, nuanced and always changing. Partly because of historians. Good historical research constantly looks for new information to deepen and enrich our understanding of the past. These things encourage others to relook at how that past affects our current world. We can see the ramifications of decisions. We can evaluate what worked, what did not, and what was not tried. 

Isn’t this what life is all about?

Looking at ourselves, collectively and individually, figuring out what moved us forward and what did not. Then continuing along the path that allows us to deal with our screwups, celebrate our successes and move forward to change what needs to be changed to make this planet a better, safer place for ALL the people who live on it. 

Or did I miss a memo, again?

Is Historical Thinking Yesterday’s News?

I have just finished reading Eric Alterman’s article in the New Yorker, The Decline of Historical Thinking. He talks about how our colleges and universities are seeing declines in those majoring in history.

I have read articles like this in the past. I was told when I was majoring both in history and history education that I would never find a job because no one wanted to learn about history anymore. When I was working on my masters, the same thing. With the dawning of our current century, books came out saying it was the end of history for a number of different reasons. In fact I have a few of them. Thomas Friedman’s The World Is Flat comes to mind. The uptick in history majors at elite institutions shows that those seeking privilege or wishing to remain privileged understand that studying history in important. For them, it is to retain their advantage. Smaller schools with more first gen students are now seen as modern day factories for workers in many ways. Listen to the way administrators talk at these schools. This is way politicians are so adamant about being involved in education at all levels. It’s a means to maintain the status quo.

But Alterman does not end on a dismal note. He mentions Bruce Springsteen’s awakening to learning about history through A Pocket History of the United States. Many people have come to similar realizations upon finding something interesting in historical tomes. I, myself, have renewed my love of history in reading Jill Lepore’s These Truths, a new study of United States history. It is a thick book but it is readable and full of different stories regarding the American continents. Most people only think history is about “dates and dead people.” My first high school students told me this when I began teaching in the 1980s. I asked how did they know they were “dead.”

As a student of history, I know now that history isn’t dead, it’s not even past many times. And as Alterman says, our current President in NOT a student of history. If fact, he rewrites it every chance he gets. He is assuming that U.S. citizens were just as bored in their school history classes as he was. I work everyday to make sure he is incorrect. History is vibrant, exciting and very relevant to our country. And I will be damned if I allow it to be repeated.

I am an enemy of the people.

I am an enemy of the people.  I am not a journalist. I am not a member of the press.  I am not a member of news media.  However, I am an enemy of the people.

I am a teacher.  A teacher who attempts to have her students think critically.  A person who tries to make sense of the complicated country we live in.  A person who was taught to respect all people.  To be proud of who I am, where I am from and my country.  I am a United States citizen.  I know all the words to our national anthem.  I say the pledge of allegiance as it was originally written.

I teach U.S. history and critical thinking skills.  I read.  I read a lot.  Growing up I read everything I could on the Civil War.  It intrigued me that we could fight against each other.  WHY?   Where we fought EACH OTHER over differing ideas of how our country would move forward.  Would we attempt to live up the ideals set forth in the Constitution, Bill of Rights and Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence?  What would citizenship mean in the United States afterward?  What ideals would we strive for?

Lincoln could have said, sure, okay, the Southern states want to leave the Union, let them.  They had meager resources, very little industry.  How long would they last?  Remember there is no reverse in history.  You cannot go back and “fix” what you think went badly.

I have listened to arguments from those who supported our current President’s election and platform.  Mr. Bannon can sound very convincing.  Mr McConnell can persuade some.  Mr. Ryan doesn’t say much.  I remember the first time I heard Ronald Reagan speak, he had some interesting ideas as well.  Some I even agreed with.  Mr. Bannon, Mr. McConnell, Mr. Ryan, not so much.

I do not agree with Mr. Sanders a lot either.  Ms. Warren has some good ideas.  Ms. Clinton also.  Mr. Obama did the best he could. I did not agree with some of his platform either.  I did appreciate that he was human and willing to learn and grow as a President.

Our current President is not willing to learn, does not read much that I can tell, and seemingly has no desire to grow into the office he now holds.  Some may say he’s old, he’s not going to change.  I beg to differ, I am only 11 years younger than he is, and I am still growing, still learning, still reading and still changing.

Our country is divided.  That much is true.  But WHY is it so divided?  We’ve lost jobs due to changing industries, cheaper goods coming from overseas, multinational corporations, etc.  Do we WANT to reverse time?  See what I said above, that’s not going to happen.  Unless someone has a TARDIS (shameless Dr. Who reference here!).  For those not Whovians, the TARDIS is a vehicle that can move through space AND time.  While maybe some future beings might figure it out, we haven’t.  SO IT AIN’T GONNA HAPPEN ANY TIME SOON.

What I can say it that we are in this altogether.  Whether we want to be or not.

We are all guilty of taking in our news from sources that usually agree with us.  Newspapers, magazines, news networks, blogs.  We gravitate toward what’s close to what we believe.  We want to be validated.  To be “right.”  It’s “those people” who are “wrong.”  How many of you check the source material that people quote from.  Read the original information, check the background of the writers.

Part of the originality of our United States, is that it is through consensus that we have a government.  It’s a BIG bureaucracy because we need the checks and balances so that nothing happens too quickly.  You see, we, human beings, are fallible.  We make mistakes.  None of us are perfect.  It’s time for us to think long and hard about what unites us, not what divides us.  We are stronger together, ALL of us, even those immigrants.  Why do you think people still struggle and sacrifice to come here?  Why did your ancestors come here?  You cannot say they were always here, NOT ONE was ALWAYS here.  Even the ancestors of Native Americans came from elsewhere.  Think about it.  Why would they come to a place that they knew very little about?  For the opportunity to be better, to experience a different life, to be fulfilled AND to challenge themselves.

It’s time to challenge ourselves again.  Argue, agree, disagree.  But be a United States citizen who is proud, and willing to learn, grow and change.

I dare you.

 

Racism, Part One

It’s funny.  I am white, very white, a pale woman of Swedish descent.  I am proud of my heritage.  Almost three years ago, I moved from Tampa, Florida to Bowie, Maryland.  I now teach at Prince George’s Community College.  Prince George’s county is a majority minority county, the most affluent one in the United States.  Quite a change from Tampa.  I had lived in Florida all my adult life prior to my move to Maryland. I took the job because I wanted a change.  The racial makeup of the county and the college did not even factor into my decision.  It sounded like the ideal position for me.  I could teach full-time at a community college.  I admit to being a little naive about the whole thing.  I had worked with African-Americans in Florida, in fact, my previous supervisor had been African-American.  I have friends who are African-American, Latino/a and Asian.

I did notice the difference on my first day teaching and it has continued.  There are many times that I am the only white person in my classrooms.  I did not think about it at all.  I figured I had a lot in common with these students.  I am a first generation in college student, the daughter of an immigrant to the United States.  But my students did not see that in me.  They saw a white woman.  Being white means having privilege.  I understood the concept of privilege but I believed that being from a working class background would negate the privilege.

I was incorrect.  Even being working class, the white part gave me privilege over people of color.  My childhood was different and not only because I grew up in the 1960s.  My parents moved out of the south side of Chicago in 1963 because “those people” moved onto our block.  I did not understand who those people were until I was in high school.  I was a kid.  Race was not on my radar at that point.  Later, it would.  I made friends with different kinds of kids.  They just had to be willing to play with the rest of us.  Usually with the boys.  I was a tomboy.  I still am, in some ways.  That was the second thing that I thought would negate the privilege thing.  I identify as lesbian.  But again, the privilege was still there.

I did not walk into an obvious battlefield.  At least it did not appear as one.  The faculty was a mix of people.  The students were also a mix.  Most of them are first-generation in college students.  Many of them are non-traditional age students.  Most of them are at the community college to learn a group of skills for entering the workforce.  Some of them are planning to transfer to four-year institutions for a baccalaureate degree.  Some of them are like me, not sure of what they want to do yet.

Most of the students were accepting of my differences.  They questioned my decision to move FROM Florida to Maryland.  To them, the norm was the opposite.

TO BE CONTINUED……

WHY ARE WE SO TRIBAL?

On the Media – from WNYC Radio today!!  FACE THE RACIST NATION 

I would like you to listen to this podcast in its entirety. But I want you to then look at Nell Irvin Painter’s book, The History of White People, here’s a review from the NY Times.   After you have absorbed the podcast and the book review, then look at Jody M. Roy’s book Love to Hate, America’s Obsession with Hatred and Violence. I couldn’t find a decent review of this book but Roy looks at how hatred is prevalent and idolized in our society.  It was published in 2002.

I would love if everyone would read the books but I understand that’s not realistic for some of you.

Then think about what has been happening in our society for the past 18-20 years. Please respond if you like. I would like each of you to be honest in your viewpoints, and if you choose to respond to each other, I would like you to be civil and measured in your responses. Think of it as a looking at information for a research paper (I know, it sounds like work!). BUT this research paper will hopefully add to your body of knowledge about how you view the world. It’s important. Vitally important.

 

 

 

 

Data is just Data……or is it?

Blind Faith in Big Data

Data is just numbers….. it’s how we ask the questions of it and how we design what we are looking for and at. So since humans are fallible and have biases, data is usually skewed to maintain the status quo long after the quo has lost its status. Change continues to occur.

Looking at data is a good thing.  However, we need to remember who collected the data, where in society was the data gathered, how did they create the algorithms to aggregate the data and what questions are being asked of the data.

Think about it, this process takes time but our society does not stand still.  Quantitative information has its place but it is NOT unbiased or neutral.  Howard Zinn stated that you cannot be neutral on a moving train.  Data cannot be neutral either.  The train is our world…  it keeps moving forward even as we look back.

Everything is “data driven” today.  Schooling, shopping, politics, living and even dying.  We look at trends, averages, means, medians.  What do they mean?  What can they tell us?  Well, they can tell us where we have been, and show where we MIGHT be going.  And most of us would like that because we do not like not knowing.  We are afraid of the unknown.  It’s not a bad thing but nothing remains static.  And usually change happens even if we dig in our heels and stomp our feet.

But all of this is what most people do.  NOT EVERYONE.  Relying on data, trends, averages, means and medians negates the outliers.  And the outliers are where most of our change occurs.  Inventions happen because someone didn’t stay in their lanes, color inside the lines or sat in their boxes.  Innovation occurs when someone looks at a process and decides there’s a different way of doing the same thing.

This is why we continue to look back at history.  We discover new ways of looking at our world.  We find out new information about the people who came before us.  And we figure out that NONE OF THEM WERE PERFECT.  All of them had flaws.  They made mistakes.  This does not diminish our history or our heritage.  It creates a deeper understanding of both.  Our culture changes because it has to.  Time only goes one way.  As Mary Chapin Carpenter sang, it can go fast, slow and stall sometimes but there is no reverse.

Moving forward is our only choice.  Or you can stop, but that would be to stop living.  And I do not believe any of us want to do that until we absolutely have to.  I’m not ready to stop yet.  I have more life to live and so much more to learn!!!