Filmmakers Lyn Davis Lear and Louie Schwartzberg created a four-minute film, What’s Possible, for today’s United Nation’s Summit on Climate Change.
I highly recommend watching via Moyers & Company, where you can see not only the film but an accompanying interview with Davis Lear and Schwartzberg: http://billmoyers.com/segment/whats-possible/. It is inspiring, on a subject that demands our inspiration.
In honor of the upcoming massive public demonstration, the People’s Climate March on September 22, here is a Ken Winograd recommended Tedx talk by Van Jones: Environmental Justice. Wondering how social and environmental justice are related? Jones gives an example in his compelling talk about the use of plastics and poverty−whether that plastic is recycled or not.
Need to get even more motivated? Watch Disruption, a new film by Kelly Nyks and Jared P. Scott, online.
Jacob Murray and Jackie Jenkins-Scott wrote a commentary this week about the need for not only recruiting but retaining teachers of color: We Need Teachers of Color. They included ideas from some current efforts to improve the approximately 30% gap nationwide between the number of students of color and teachers of color. [In Oregon that gap is 27% according to our latest Statewide Report Card.] Murray and Scott are part of a Wheelock College Aspire Institute initiative to support new teachers, “…by fostering supportive, culturally responsive work environments in collaboration with school principals; connecting them with retired educators of color who will serve as mentors; developing cross-school support networks to decrease isolation; and offering professional, leadership, and self-advocacy skills training.”
In citing advantages of closing the demographics gap, the authors stated, “These teachers can also serve in the role of cultural mediators and advocates, helping to counter negative stereotypes and strengthening a district’s human capital.” While I don’t disagree with this, it is a heavy load to place on anyone, let alone new teachers. Need a reminder about this? Back in March, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights released data about racial inequality in American Public Schools. Allyson Dean shared the following article with me last week: 14 Disturbing Stats About Racial Inequality in American Public Schools. It is a very short and, yes, disturbing synopsis of that data.
In related news, American Promise—the film we brought to OSU last spring—is now available on DVD, Amazon Streaming, and in the Apple iTunes. As a documentary spanning 13 years, it puts a human face on racial inequality that exists even for boys in financially stable, supportive, two-parent families who attend prestigious private schools.
A September 3 article in Rolling Stone describes a disturbing trend: The Forsaken: A Rising Number of Homeless Gay Teens Are Being Cast Out by Religious Families. It discusses the rise in high school and college students becoming homeless after coming out as lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, or transgender (LGBT) because their families cut all ties with them. The stories about how these students coped, as well as the statistics cited, are heart wrenching but important to take note of as educators. For example, LGBT youth are estimated to comprise at least 40% of all homeless youth, and they are seven times more likely than other homeless youth to be the victims of a crime.
Molly Engle recommends reading What My Bike Has Taught Me about White Privilege, a recent blog entry by J. Dowsett. In it, Dowsett discusses why the word “privilege” is difficult and yet appropriate, using his clever bicycle metaphor.
If this peaks your interest, you may also want to read Explaining White Privilege to a Broke White Person by Gina Crosley-Corcoran.