Dru Blood - I believe in the inherent goodness of all beings: March 2007 Archives

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Speechless...

March 30, 2007

Actually, not really. the thing is lately I am overflowing with ideas to the point of utter overwhelmitude. When I sit down to try to write about one thing, I can't narrow it down.

But, suffice to say, I am full of ideas. I have been using my voice recorder a lot. We will see if I ever have a chance to expound on the ideas I record there. I have been thinking a lot lately about fictionalizing my life...about creating a safe space in which to write about certain things I am experiencing by couching them in fiction so no one knows what the facts are. It's appealing to me, and I am kind of ashamed to admit that I keep forgetting that I have the artistic license to lie. I don't owe anyone the full truth about myself except those I am intimately acquainted with...and, to be honest, I am learning to be selective about what I tell THEM, as well.

Things are good, though. I had a nice interaction with a friend yesterday that helped me to pull my ass out of my head. I had to cancel plans with another friend because I just wasn't up for it...but then I had to eat, so I invited another friend out for PANCAKES (yum!) at Magnolia (not the trunk one). By the time the night was over, I was just so energized and happy it seemed ridiculous that I had ever felt exhausted or sad. So, yeah. I know I always say this, but I am really blessed with some pretty special people in my life. People who inspire me. People who conspire with me. People who I admire. Sometimes I forget how busy my life is, and how difficult it can be to have real relationships with people amidst that busy-ness. I am glad that I have friendships that accommodate that, and also those friendships that can be put on hold for weeks or months - or even through hundreds or thousands of miles and years and years...and can start right up again without even skipping a beat. People with whom I have been through a lot of shit, as well as people who have just quietly been There. People I have endured, and people who have endured me. hahaha. You get the picture.

Anyway, I feel pretty lucky right now. Or maybe I feel blessed. I always do...it's just sometimes I feel like I don't deserve it. And, also...I can recognize the importance of spending a few weeks in a state of somber reflection. I have come to some conclusions and gained some insight, and I am ready to move forward and take advantage of that wisdom.

Posted at 10:17 PM • Comments (0) • TrackBack

For a muse... (can you tell where I got interrupted and lost the flow?) :P

March 28, 2007

Our friendship is held captive by your desire & while I, too, desire - I don't require requisition - it's like you are on some kind of crazy mission to capture a flag or climb a mountain & meanwhile, I am enraptured by this fountain of you that these birds deftly bathe in, oblivious to the endless cat and mouse, they only twitter and chirp while you solemnly grouse and I rush in the save the bits and pieces from this ever-burning house.

Damn desire! Damn require! Damn requisition, too! Let's sit side by side, me & you. Forget the rest and watch the water as it beads on feathered breast. That, my friend, is all that I request.

For desire is fleeting as this fire, and while the flames burn ever higher - all in its path is destroyed. And to require is to deny the beauty of the unrequited, our love is more than bodies/souls united, and requisition puts us in the awkward position of being someone's precious possession.

Instead, again, let's watch the bathers bathe and, once clean, fly up as one in some unseen choreographed dream...and you and I, as if winged, may perhaps convene obscene before we part again - one part united, the rest untied & free to be each others' trees in which our hearts and souls nest. Free.

Posted at 9:28 AM • Comments (0) • TrackBack

Lessons learned on my vacation

March 26, 2007

I assume this will be added to throughout the week, but here goes...

Lessons I have learned while traveling with the kids:

Necessary Hotel Amenities: indoor pool, in-room refrigerator, in-room coffee maker, television with cable. Beds? Optional. (Coley ended up sleeping on the floor both nights after falling out of the bed the first hour of the first night.)

Kids Eat Free means you have to choose from a very unhealthy menu and you still end up paying for it.

No matter how subtle the incline, if there is grass, the kids will find an excuse to roll around in it.

You actually can skin your face, if you are Coley.

There is nothing cuter than a pair of giant river otters...except maybe a whole mess of penguins.

Evidently, I am attractive to parrots.

Always always always eat a meal before going to the art museum.

Never bring your fragile-egoed 6-year old aspiring artist into a gallery of youth artwork. He WILL fall on the floor and cry about how he will NEVER be that good...and he wants to go home NOW.

If you are at a truck stop rest room, and the boys have to use the bathroom, better to bring them in the ladies room than chew your fingernails while you watch countless seedy-looking men stream into the restroom you just sent your boys into.

No matter how much you spend and how much effort you exert, the boys will talk endlessly about how great the hotel was (and the swimming pool) (and the cable television) and not mention anything else. You can count this as a victory. You did, after all, choose the hotel.

Also, three days after arriving home, when you spend a simple day at the park and get stuck in the rain and your impossible to please 6 year old tells you "This day was more funner than most other days." Don't take it personally. Just smile, and nod in agreement...and muse over his ability to stay in the present.

Posted at 9:31 AM • Comments (2) • TrackBack

Vaginas and Bong Hits (for Jesus)

March 23, 2007

Just happened to stumble upon two school-related free-speech issues & thought I should link them up here:

On Monday, March 19th, the Supreme Court of the United States heard oral arguments in the case informally known as "Bong Hits 4 Jesus."
High school student Joseph Frederick was subjected to school suspension for his display of a homemade banner while standing across the street from school property, albeit during normal school hours.

While initial court rulings held in favor of the Juneau, Alaska school district, the Ninth Circuit Court reversed in favor of Frederick.

The Ninth Circuit determined that the school district did not have the right to unduly restrict the public demonstration by Frederick when he elected to unfurl and display his 14-foot banner with the words, "Bong Hits 4 Jesus."

The school district appealed to the Supreme Court.

BONG HITS 4 JESUS IS ABOUT FREE SPEECH, NOT DRUGS via Brenda Stardom, see also News From the Sandbox.

he initial suspensions resulted after the students knowingly went against administrators' wishes and said the word "vagina" on Friday night at an open mic session sponsored by the high school literary magazine Reflections.
School administrators had asked the students to either not read the monologue or to omit the stanza in which the word "vagina" appeared, saying the word would be inappropriate for younger members of the audience who were expected to be in attendance.

But the students went ahead and together finished the line: "I declare these streets, any streets, my vagina's country."

Suspension postponed for students who said 'vagina' via Fetch Me My Axe see also Susie Bright. (Funny, I totally also responded to that article with a desire to run into the nearest school and yell "Vagina!!!!")

Posted at 7:57 AM • Comments (1) • TrackBack

Argument Haiku

March 18, 2007

I just had the BEST idea while I was out there hanging laundry (yes, ladies and gentlemen, I did ANOTHER four lines today. That's 8 (I just tried to capitalized "8") count them EIGHT, lines of laundry in two days. Now I gotta fold that shit!). Here is my idea...you ready?

ARGUMENT HAIKU.

Think about it...the next time you get into an argument, why not argue IN HAIKU. You have to stop before everything you say and create the 5-7-5 flow...and not only that, but you have to say something naturey! If you still manage anger through that, then at least you will baffle, amuse, and/or irritate your fightmate - any one of which might create a less volatile situation in which to argue!

I would give an example of argument haiku, but lately all of my arguments have been about stuff like "clash vs. sex pistols" hahahaha...and I am not sure that would make good haiku. Lemme see...

"overrated tripe,"
you say? Let me tell YOU, sir...
...an earthworm tunnels.

hahahaha.

Posted at 5:36 PM • Comments (3) • TrackBack

This gives me some hope...

March 17, 2007

"You spent eight days in the Sarasota County jail," De Furia said. "That's your sentence. No probation."
Relatives applauded, and Coffin walked out of the courthouse with only a $358 bill for court costs. The sentence surprised even defense attorneys, who had suggested De Furia sentence Coffin to probation.

Homeowner had 'a right to resist'

Posted at 3:41 PM • Comments (0) • TrackBack

Twittery Haiku

March 15, 2007

twittery haiku
(inspired by smartiekat, composed while hanging laundry, for...)

When you see birds, I
wonder if you think of me.
Love chirps eternal.

Posted at 12:55 PM • Comments (0) • TrackBack

sxswi - the end

March 15, 2007

I am going to try to recap my adventures elsewhere (with links!) but I feel compelled to say "it's over." All of my sxsw friends have flown away until next year, and I'm still in Austin. As anticipated, it was almost like the ending of/beginning of a movie with everyone twittering their airport frustrations, and finally landing at their varied destinations, weaving in and out of each others' paths, and rejoining their lives already in progress.

I spent much of yesterday working, and much of today so far has been spent sleeping, as I seem to have a raging case of cedar fever. It's good though. My body knows me well. I could almost hear it plotting for/against me "Look," my body says to all of the overactive little white blood cells... "there is no way she is going to let herself sleep in on the first day of her vacation unless we take her down by force!"

And take me down, they did. Now, I feel ok. Refreshed. I have a bit of a headache, but my body really needed the sleep, and I am up and at 'em. Playing Sims, planning a total house cleaning spree, reading to the kids, and making reservations and itineraries for my short jaunt out of town next week. I keep wavering between whether I want to go for one night or two...I will have to decide by tomorrow. On the one hand, I might as well hit three different points in Dallas while I am out...on the other, it's expensive to be away from home base for that long. On yet another...why not splurge while I have a little bit of throwaway cash. I guess I will see how far I get with the house cleaning and decide from there. At least I got my seemingly inevitable sick-while-on-vacation thingy out of the way right off the bat.

The change of seasons is close at hand. Winter to spring is a time for renewal. I have a lot of old habits and worn out relationships that I either need to upgrade or trade in to make room for something healthier and cleaner. In the interim, I have much to consider. It's also time to think about the daily/weekly/monthly rhythms we have established as a family, keep what works and discard the rest...and perhaps seek new rituals to fill the gaps. The boys are getting bicycles from the spring fairy, in addition to our trip to the museums of Dallas. They refuse to learn to ride, but I am tired of being bound to the car. I need to prepare them for the potential of one day not having a car, and I just think it sounds nice to go on a family bike ride. We'll see how they do.

So, that's it. I love it when there is such a marked and tangible ebb and flow in my life. The sxsw'ers washed up on the shores of Austin, left little gems of love and knowledge, and have drifted away on friendly tides. I'm so happy I got to share their presence, even though their absence makes me sad.

Posted at 11:39 AM • Comments (0) • TrackBack

oh, and...

March 12, 2007

I almost just twittered that I was writing a blog post about twittering. Instead, I chose not to twitter it, and, instead, wrote this blog post about thinking about twittering about writing a blog post about twittering.

hahahahahahahaha.

Posted at 8:23 PM • Comments (1) • TrackBack

a couple of thoughts about twitter

March 12, 2007

I almost twittered these, but I thought I would spare my fellow twitterees and maybe entice some non-twitterers...

The idea of twittering faux responses to faux conversations makes me get all mischievously grinny inside.
I am seeing this pattern among sxsw'ers where everyone has converged and are now going their disparate ways and the idea of having a record of that convergence and dissipation kind of intrigues me. Esp. the idea of people going on and twittering about their every day lives.
Also, I'm digging the idea of having twittery poetry groups...or folks who create an ongoing twitter creative work. Like an endless fictional dialog.

Posted at 8:13 PM • Comments (0) • TrackBack

sxsw - day one

March 11, 2007

I have notes on the panels and Tracy and I did a podcast from a loud bar that I don't know if I will put up, but might. Internet access at the event was sketchy, and I was not about to drag my computer around town with me.

But let me recap briefly here to remind myself for later...

Arrived on time-ish. Waited in the reallyfuckinglongline for my badge, then waited in a thronging mob for my badge to be made. Managed to get to the emerging social and technological trends panel on time. I recorded it and took notes (note to self: need to dump the data from the media player before leaving today.) then went down a secret elevator to attend the bridging cultural divides panel. Jason, Lynn, Samitha, and Elayne (crap. I'm too lazy to get up and check the spelling of her name, but I am pretty sure we talked later about how her name is the opposite of mine) did great. I liked what Jason had to say about gating and also about anticipating the needs of a particular community rather than just building stuff that seems cool to the developer community. I have a lot to say about this panel, but I said it in my notes and I don't want to give too much detail here.

After the cultural divide panel, we all went out to lunch at Mekong River, which was good. I think the basil tofu at Thai Passion is better, but the company was good so the food didn't really matter. Met a comic book loving, austin living in woman whose name begins with an M, but I can't remember the rest (do you sense a theme here? I am just awful about names! Thankfully I have it written down somewhere) but who I hope to run into more often. We had a nice talk about families and computers and homeschooling. I think this is the first time I have ever met someone new at sxsw who is actually from Austin! Yay!

Anyway, finished up lunch late and missed the keynote, but no matter. I'm really kind of tired of everything being about marketing and monetizing, but I suppose that is the unstated purpose of all sxsw panels. I want there to be more about inclusion and opportunity, not just of untapped markets, but of, you know, segments of society who need to be included for the sake of social justice.

Sat in on a godawful panel by some hack who wrote a book about all the chicks he slept with. d0000d. I guess I was supposed to be impressed. I was told my use of the word assholishness made a small cadre of twitterers at The Hideout erupt into laughter, which made me feel like my time was not totally wasted. I ignored the next panel to play around on the suddenly available internet, then headed down to the panel on blogging and spirituality.

Tracy and I met up and hoofed it to the car to drop off all of our gear, save the essentials. Thought about dorkbot, but the line was too long, so we walked over to Whisky Bar for drinks that we had to pay for (!!!!) Met a bubbly woman from Boston who wants to work on a project connecting businesses with non-profits somehow, and a dude in an oscar the grouch shirt. Sat for a bit, swilled two very strong rum and cokes, then stumbled back to Tracy's car and on to the AMODA thingy at Mohawk's, but we were early so we decided to get something to eat.

Does the city do some sort of homeless sweep for sxsw? Because there seemed to be a LOT fewer panhandlers in the usual areas where panhandlers congregate. At any rate, we made it to Havana unscathed and hungry. Ate some really good food and some veggies that tasted like they were straight out of the frozen food aisle. Hit or miss at that place. I'm going to stick with El Vegetariano, even though it is mostly fried stuff. Tracy started talking to his fork and planning escape routes from the restaurant in case of laser beam attack, so I figured it was time to get him out of there...

Back to AMODA where we saw jason and Lynne and Tiffany, and where I stood in back of fist-pumpy guy watching the laptop battle. I wonder who won? I wanted the guitar dude to win just because he did something interesting. And, no, not because I have a weakness for guitar dudes, although that is very true.

AMODA got boring, so we walked a zillion miles to Molotov for actual free drinks. I sat down to people watch (pretty much I had had my fill of social interaction by this point) and the couch I sat on was damp (yick!) and I was done with the booze for the night. Tracy and I headed back to the car, allowing the long walk to sober us up a bit. Thought about going to 8-bit, but missed a turn and decided against it.

Daylight savings happened in the car, just as I was saying "I feel like we are going home early, even though it's already 1 AM" and right as I said that, the stoplights started flashing yellow and Tracy remarked that it was now 2 AM, and our credibility as party animals had been upgraded by an hour due to daylight savings time.

Came home, zoned out, went to sleep, woke up...fuck. Forgot to set my regular clock. I guess that first panel session isn't TERRIBLY important. I am hoping it is not the one George is on.

Good morning, beautiful people.

Best of so far:
-Twitter is the coolest thing ever to hit the internet
-The cultural divide panel, and the discussion over lunch
-laughing and stumbling around with Tracy
-"Say no to crack"
-Making friends with a cool local! yay!

Posted at 9:51 AM • Comments (0) • TrackBack

sxsw - night one

March 10, 2007

Didn't attend any of the day panels today, but as soon as the kids were gone, I started scheming my nighttime plans. Jumped the number 3 bus after hesitating for too long to get going. Long enough to where I wasn't going to be on time to get my badge tonight no way nohow...so looked on the capmetro site to find the best way to get to Freddie's for the BlogHer meetup, and although the site advised that I take the #3 for the fewest transfers, it neglected to mention that it's a nearly 2 hour bus ride that loops around on Lamar and back up South First after making the entire route.

No matter, though. Before I saw Oltorf whiz by, confirming that I had, in fact, gone way too far, I was busy marveling at the bus experience in general. I know it's dumb to say I'm not privileged enough to take the bus, but I do wish I had enough time in my day to allow me to utilize public transportation more frequently. There is just something to being on a bus with other people. It's kind of intimate in a way. And as I sat in my sit listening to music, I watched as a woman who resembled a greek goddess boarded, flowing wavy hair and aquiline nose and a face that seriously looked like it had been chiseled from marble. She sat down on the bench across from a man who seemed way too happy to be on the bus. As she sat down, I noticed a 20-something year old boy stealing shy glances at her, and I really didn't blame him. And the man (who was sitting next to him) kept smiling. And then, suddenly, he threw his hand up and gestured out the window at some invisible message-receiver. It was a thumbs up or a hook-em-horns thing. And the goddess pulled out her notebook and started scribbling something, flipping back and forth between pages, and the man randomly gestured in a benign way out the window. Thumbs up, power to the people, victory fist...stuff like that. With no apparent pattern or rhythm. And the goddess pushed her hair behind her ear and scribbled more in her notebook. And I observed, thinking "Man, I need to write this DOWN." because it was seriously like some sort of choreographed and coordinated performance that made absolutely no, yet somehow all kinds of, sense. But I didn't have any paper or pen and I thought about texting it to someone, but it seemed too long to text out...so I figured I should create a voice recording, and chuckled to myself that would be the height of audacity, wouldn't it? To be sitting there describing out loud what was happening in front of me. I think it means something that the idea of talking to myself into a recording device is somehow only crazy if the people I was talking about were right in front of me. But that's what my logic determined to be true. And as I was chortling to myself about this, Oltorf whizzed past and Oh Fuck....hahaha...I was way past my stop.

So, I'm getting texts from friends and twitter and I am headed for way south austin while everyone else is arriving at Freddies, but it doesn't really matter because I am honestly really enjoying the ride. So when we stop at the end of the line before we turn to go back up, I whip out my voice recorder and in fact do make a voice recording recounting the dance of the disconnected strangers, beginning with "I am now that crazy lady who talks to herself on the bus."

And finally I made it to Freddie's where I was greeted warmly by friends. Saw Tracy, got all loud and laughingy and totally rudely interrupted the conversation he was having with Erica, gave Jason and George hugs, said hey to a silent Baratunde (I forgot how to spell his name and hope I did not butcher it too much) talked to some random dude who was wondering where all of the people with nametags had come from, punched Lynne in the face (later, I nearly assaulted her with my yo-yo. SORRY LYNNE!) spoke with Adina and, oh, what IS her name...purple mohawk woman whose name escapes me...oh, yeah...Liz. Ate a portabello mushroom sandwich and some fries, had some conversations, stuck around until they were clearing tables, when we discovered the tab had been covered by lord knows who, so we got into Tracy's rental and drove to Opal Divine's for karaoke, decided it was not our scene, walked on over to Ruta Maya for coffee and met up again with George and Jason and Lynne (who I think I managed to not injure or even come close to injuring for the rest of the evening). Drank iced coffee, talked shit, told a scraggly hippy dude that we were not, in fact, in possession of any weed (is that what he called it? I think he called it something fancier than weed...but it's not coming to mind what term he used). We started yawningish, and george had left so Tracy drove Lynne and Jason home and headed back up to my place where I did dishes while he read and now he sleeps while I write and listen to music on my headphones, and even though I really want to stay up all night cleaning my messy house, I think I'm going to head to bed right after this.

It was nice to see everyone...and I think I did see just about everyone just tonight alone. I am looking forward to more!

ETA: Good conversations: w/George about presidential hopefuls, w/Erica about Metroblogging, w/Jason and Lynne about project management, w/Tracy about communication issues.

The quote of the night was from Jason who, in response to me saying "I wasn't lost, I just missed my stop and had to come all the way back around" said "That is the very definition of lost."

Posted at 2:37 AM • Comments (2) • TrackBack

geek by geek west

March 7, 2007

This year, there will be no breathless accounts of all the great bands I have seen, because I have my kids this week and they are not really compatible with crowded, loud music venues. Damnit, too, I really REALLY wanted to see Public Enemy! PUBLIC ENEMY! FOR FREE! IN AUSTIN! (Maybe I will find a babysitter for that)(although I am having a hard time imagining who would watch my kids rather than going to see public enemy live for free)

HOWEVER, I *am* attending sxsw interactive. So if there is anyone out there who will also be attending, let me know so we can hang.

Posted at 9:15 AM • Comments (3) • TrackBack

Why We Banned Legos

March 1, 2007

"Why We Banned Legos" is an article in a magazine I subscribe to called Rethinking Schools. I wish the article was accessible online without fee, but unfortunately it is not, so I will attempt to summarize it here.

Basically, a group of teachers in an after school program at a school in Washington State were struck by the social dynamics surrounding the construction of a Lego town. They found that kids were excluding other kids and hording "cool pieces" in an insidious way that wasn't always vocally objected to (in fact, many of the excluded kids seemed resigned to exclusion, in spite of the fact that they later proved that they wished to participate and did not know how to break through the invisible wall). So, the teachers banned the Legos and created a unit study to examine the issues of wealth, power, privilege, and inclusion with their students (ages 5-9).

The original article goes on to describe a fascinating and well-organized exploration of this concept designed by the teachers. Students were asked to voice their opinions about property rights, ownership, and power...and they examined those opinions by taking field trips and playing games that were geared towards helping the children question the notion that power can somehow be benign and that really brought the idea of meritocracy into sharp focus for these children.

However, the reinterpretation of this article is somewhat staggering and reveals much about how strongly we want to protect the idea that the capitalist system of meritocracy. An article was sent to a homeschooling list I subscribe to that basically completely misinterprets the lesson in such a way that it could only have been intentional. I responded to the article thusly:

I suggest you read the actual article on which this editorial is based before leaping to the conclusion that the crafters of this lesson were in any way advocating that landowners be stripped of their property rights so big businesses can have them. I have this issue, and I have only skimmed the article, but I find the article below to be grossly slanted and inaccurate.
[...]

In fact, now that I think about it...it would be a really good homeschooling lesson on media to read this editorial and then go back and read the actual article about the lesson to note the evident slant of the editorialist.

Of course, the response to this was to skip right to communism. One of my fellow listmates said, basically, that while he believed the article wasn't supporting the usurpation of property by big business, he did feel that the lesson was promoting communism, to which I replied:

I imagine the responses on this list will also be useful in a study of media, as well as individual responses to the media. It is interesting to me that Brad has immediately decided that the only possible system of shared wealth is communism, and therefore declared any questioning of how property rights are handled in our society to be answered before they are even asked.
I think critical thinking would encouage children to experiment with several alternative methods of creating equity, and from what I have read in the original article, it looks like that is exactly what the children were encouraged to do.

Of course, all of that was before I actually read the article. hahaha. I had skimmed it, but had not had time to sit down and read it. Later that night, I did so, and found the lesson to be quite well-planned and executed, and nothing at all like it had been described by the author of the editorial linked above. So, this morning when I found another response that insisted the lesson was an insidious method of brainwashing our children to accept the tenets of communism (evil, evil communism!) I responded:

If you read the article, you would find that property rights were a very minute portion of the lesson. The main objective of the lesson was to encourage egalitarian and inclusive behavior among the children, while at the same time exploring the larger issues of power and privilege. Also, there was a lot of discussion and insight in the article about how we tend to assume that power is benign if it is not misused in such a way that would spark verbal protest. There was a really interesting portion of the lesson where arbitrary point values were applied to legos (to mirror how privilege based on skin color, family of origin, and other factors give some of us an unearned advantage over others), and those who "won" were allowed to make rules for the next round of the game.
Additionally, there is a huge leap from discussing equitable sharing of resources by a community and stripping individuals of rights to give them to corporations. The point of the experiment, and I think the objective of a communal social order (of which communisim is ONE example), is to distribute wealth and power in such a way that all members of society have an opportunity to participate. Perhaps we haven't seen such a social order yet in our lifetimes, but I am not sure why anyone would object to exploring how power and privilege operate in our society to give unearned advantage to some and undeserved disadvantage to others.

Later, someone equated the lesson with that urban legend that has a child skipping to school with all of her wonderful school supplies, only to get there and find that she is FORCED to dump her supplies in a communal bucket and comes away with *gasp* INFERIOR CRAYONS! Evidently, those individuals who send their children to public school to mix with the masses are very indignant about this concept of forced sharing. I gotta say, if you hate it so much, keep yr kids home. You won't hear me complaining about the taxes I am forced to share with the school district in spite of the fact that I have chosen to not participate. We LIVE in a society. We all benefit from its resources, and those resources include the other people in our communities. If you can't bear the thought of your child going to school and sharing his or her crayons, honey, I dunno what to tell you! At any rate, my response to the idea that "social engineering" was overtaking our schools was this:

That would be an interesting thing to discuss, but it does not have anything to do with the redistribution of legos that were already assumed to be a shared resource. I am curious how you think this experiment, and the exploration into how power and resources are shared, is equivalent to social engineering, and yet the very world we live in and are shaped by is not.
In fact, I think that's an interesting thing to think about. Do we all just assume that the way we live and the society we are shaped by is natural? And therefore any attempt to question and/or reorganize the order of things is somehow unnatural, or "engineered?"

And then I decided to explore further, and read a discussion about a reaction to the article (there is very little actual reading of the article in any of this. Mostly, people were just responding to the slanted reactions to the article, which led many to believe that the teachers noted that students were not behaving appropriately and therefore they simply yanked the legos away in a reactive manner, rather than the actual reality that the teachers got together and planned a very sophisticated lesson surrounding the removal and subsequent reestablishment of lego privileges, which encouraged the children to examine the issues of ownership, power, inclusion, and equity.

Boy, do I ever NOT have my finger on the pulse of America. What I read on this board shocked me. People are actually decrying the lesson these teachers were attempting to teach, and basically saying "children will be children" and therefore should not be encouraged to examine the power dynamics that come into play when groups of children exclude other children. In fact, I imagine that many of the people on that board believe that it's probably preferable that children learn to grab what is theres without considering how their unearned privilege influences their "rights" of ownership.

While I realize there are many within the public school system who are trying desperately to counteract this idea that the distribution of wealth and resources in this country is somehow equitable and meritocratic, I am frankly somewhat appalled by the response to this article by people who are allegedly parents of children. Are there really that many people who are so opposed to their children learning that perhaps our system is less equitable than those in positions of privilege would lead you to believe that they need to demonize an earnest attempt to point out the inherent inequities of our system and work with children to combat those inequities in the classroom?

Obviously I am in total support of any curriculum which moves our children towards examining "rights" that are essentially extensions of unearned privilege. I am concerned, however, that this is such a controversial thing to stand for. If we can't even address these issues with something so benign as Legos without a firestorm of opposition, how on earth do we address global poverty, hunger, and health care crises?

Posted at 9:43 AM • Comments (0) • TrackBack