Have you been reading...

#31DaysofIBPOC? 31 blog posts from Indigenous, Black, people of color in and around education which you can read about here.

It starts here, and you can follow the thread of blog posts from one to another. I particularly encourage you, if you're a white woman in education, to read yesterday's post from Lorena Germán:

I remember in tenth grade when my PE teacher was looking to argue with me because I had testified before the city’s school committee. She figured instigating a fight was the excuse she needed to get me suspended. I knew she’d have administrative support, so I didn’t let her win. She’d make sarcastic critiques about my testimony when I asked to use the restroom, when I wanted to take a break, if I was talking to a peer. Literally, any chance and she stepped right in. 

She didn’t appreciate what I was saying at these meetings because it revealed that the teachers (in general) were not there for us. How could they have never mentioned that many of our bathroom stalls were missing doors? How could they have never mentioned that sometimes the heaters didn’t work and we sat in class with coats, hats, and gloves on (for those who had them) trying to complete class work? How could they not say that the only bathroom in the gym area for physically disabled students also had no stall? How could they have missed that, if they were indeed “for the children?”