On dailyness in a time lacking precedent

 

Boston Fire Department post-fire

I was working in the office in Boston the last week of May when a noticeable number of fire engines came screaming by. A look at social media revealed that a building two blocks over was actively on fire. It was the kind of fire that has people from all directions taking photos--lots of smoke in a heavily built-up area--and so it got plenty of attention. 
It wasn't, though, until I went to get lunch, and being just as nosy as you are, walked up the blocks to see what was now extinguished, taking the above photo, that I realized that I had at no point worried about where I was or my own safety. Despite being in an old port city, now build out of bricks for a reason, we have people for this: people who show up every day, having been extensively trained and equipped, exactly so I don't have to think about what I'm to do when a building two blocks over is on fire. 

I have been thinking a lot lately about this sort of showing up we take for granted, even as so much nationally is falling apart. So much of what have been so often sneeringly dismissed as federal bureaucrats are people--surprise!--on whose work we rely. This point was so effectively made by those suing to keep the federal Department of Education that they got an injunction, but of course it is just as true in every federal department, from the IRS (yes, indeed) to National Parks to USAID and on and on.

But as above, so below: the functioning of so many things at the state level and at the local level depends on the daily work of people whose names and titles never make articles, whose functions never get discussed unless and until some clueless git eliminates them. 

Do you think about what's in your water when you turn on the tap? 

Or what happens after you take out the trash to the curb? 

Or if the bridge you drive over on your way to work is going to fall down?

Aren't you glad that somebody does?

Statement from the faculty at Teachers' College, Columbia University

 To read, to share: 

While this week’s education news has been dominated by Columbia, previous weeks focused on the K-12 landscape. Developments included the appointment of a Secretary of Education with no education expertise, unable even to correctly identify the IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) - one of our nation’s largest pieces of federal education and civil rights legislation, which she is charged by Congress to administer. The administration laid off half of the Department of Education’s workforce. The firings have all but shuttered the more than 150 year old National Center for Education Statistics, on which countless areas of education research, including “The Nation’s Report Card” via the National Assessment of Educational Progress and studies that focus on measuring equity, rely. These are the staffpeople who ensure that Congressionally-approved funds for Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (for children living in poverty), the IDEA and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act for disabled students, and federal financial aid to higher education make their way to their intended students, families, and communities. Major staff reductions at the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights intentionally impede this division from ensuring equitable treatment of children in our nation’s schools.

As in higher education, the Trump administration not only seeks to usurp the Congressional power of the purse but does so in the name of false and misleading representations of the state of our educational institutions. Whatever claims to the contrary, American public education is governed chiefly by state constitutions and local school districts. They decide what students learn, how teachers teach, and how student success is measured. When, for example, executive orders seek to disregard that law and tradition, we applaud leaders who, like Maine Governor Janet Mills, respond with “See you in court!”.

As experts on teaching and learning, we know that the most profound moments of learning are usually uncomfortable, as they may lead people to question taken-for-granted assumptions about themselves and the society they inhabit. The goal of good teaching is not to eliminate that discomfort, but to give it a productive use. The barrage of Executive Orders, threats to the Department of Education, and mandates such as the March 13 letter are aimed at restricting discourse and generating fear in teachers and students, especially those most vulnerable: non-US citizens, racially or ethnically minoritized populations, gender and sexually diverse and expansive people, and disabled people. Teaching and learning are much more difficult when one is afraid, and pedagogy can easily turn to rote memorization and repetition in order to avoid controversy.

While the White House accuses elementary and secondary schools as well as higher education of indoctrinating students, against the evidence, what we see is an attack on the capacity for criticism — paving the way for authoritarianism and fascism. The idea that directing criticism at the US or its geopolitical allies is un-American runs counter to much of the history of this nation. As James Baldwin once stated, “I love America more than any other country in the world and, exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually.” It is extremely hard, if not impossible, for people of any age to do the difficult work of learning, of understanding multiple perspectives on an issue, of offering counterpoints to commonly assumed views, when people are scared of losing their livelihoods and/or their visas, being arrested or deported, or being deemed enemies of the state by the highest office in the land.

As educators and researchers concerned with justice and equity, we cannot stay silent. 

For the preservation of their rights and liberties...

I was invited in August to do an Ed talk at the MTA Summer Conference. Here's my talk on educating the whole student with the "Gloomy Pedagogue."



And thanks to the MTA for the invitation! I had a great time.

"School is not about you...schools exist for the benefit of me"

"I am better off in a well-educated world"