Advocating for change! I can’t seem to think about it enough simply because there’s so many injustices that need attention and how else is anything going to get accomplished if we don’t make our voices heard. It’s so simple to me-and I see it pretty clearly despite not being a fan of the messy side of politics. Even if you can’t articulate the substance of the issues at hand in our political system, you can show up. You can make your face seen. Actions often speak louder than words.
However this is something that I struggle with communicating to fellow individuals my age. SO often do I hear people say they’re opting out of politics. Of course they have their reasons, and no matter the logistics of them, I can’t help but think they’re nothing more than excuses built on what though? Fear? Discomfort? Lack of desire to put in the extra work? Lack of passion for the things that need attention?
The importance of making your face seen and your voice heard is becoming so much more relevant to me with each step closer that I take to my desired profession. As a future educator not only am I going to be affected by social justice, but so are my students! And I can’t live comfortably knowing I’m not doing some small part to fight for the things that need attention.
I’m so early in the process that I often become paralyzed by fear, but leaving by 8 am to attend the lobby day for racial equality in the classroom had a huge impact on me. It reminded me that I’m not alone in this, that when we come together we can get so much more done. Before the lobby day I knew that things weren’t black and white but I still at a different notion of what a good educator is. Now I see that you can be a good educator and not participate in our civic process but you can be a kickbutt Leslie Knope style educator by participating in the civic process. And I truly think there’s so much more fulfillment in not just knowing the process and the issues/conflicts at hand but standing up for change and participating in the process. And I don’t even fully understand it-but I feel so much more a part of the collective of teachers that want racial equality in our schools than I did sitting at home reading about it.
I had a similar experience when caucusing till 10PM. I was glad to be in a room with others that wanted similar changes. My main concern with this experience was that most of the individuals in the room were white. The age range was dynamic but otherwise everyone looked middle class or higher white folks. And all of the things we addressed as notions to get passed in our city affect more than just the white middle and upper class. So why is it that way? Why mostly white people? It’s not that they care more. I think it ultimately comes down to not enough access to the caucusing locations as well as lack of education on what they are and how they affect us.
I think the times for caucusing are ridiculous. 6-8 that’s a very unrealistic time frame for anyone working those hours or at home with kids. I’d like to see it become an all day thing, but I’m also curious if there’s any hope for child care to be made available for families that need a place to safely take their children while they participate in the civic process. Another thought is the city pairing with metro transit to get people to their caucusing locations for free. I know they do these sorta free bus ride days on holidays such as New Year's or St. Patrick's day or even free rides to the Twins game. I don’t really know the process behind implementing this sorta thing but it seems like just one idea to push for diversity in our civic process and perhaps our political system.
A couple quotes from Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed that stood out to me:
“Indeed, the interests of the oppressors lie in "changing the consciousness of the oppressed, not the situation which oppresses them," (1) for the more the oppressed can be led to adapt to that situation, the more easily they can be dominated.”
“The truth is, however, that the oppressed are not "marginals," are not living "outside" society. They have always been "inside" the structure which made them "beings for others." The solution is not to 'integrate" them into the structure of oppression, but to transform that structure so that they can become "beings for themselves."
In regards to both the lack of racial diversity when caucusing and lobbying for racial equality amongst teachers in our classroom, oppression is a very clear (yet hidden) cause. I think right now with Black Lives Matter having such a huge presence in MN, there’s so much tension to fight for a shift in our society. In a way integrating African Americans and other teachers of color into our education systems as teachers and other even stronger forces is a good first step to addressing the oppression in our society(focusing on the educational system)and it’s not the end solution however I think when Freire talks about needing to transform the structure that this is a huge step that will have a chain effect for so many students. Simply having a good teacher of color in the classroom can greatly benefit students perspective and create conversation to shift the status quo.
Last thought:
Serious shout out to Maria for being a part of the lobby day. I was so glad to see her there. She sparked a lot of my conversation I had with my boyfriend about the lobby day.(just about the importance of participating in these important processes and steps for much needed positive change and the value it adds to an educator) I have no idea what time she must have had to get up to leave to take the bus and light rail from where I live in south Minneapolis to get to the education building, and then she said she spent a while walking to find the right building. My first thought was “you go girl”
No comments:
Post a Comment