This Blog’s life begins on Monday June 28th and its life ends on Sunday July 4th at midnight.
The problem is not that we can’t name the injustices we have experienced and see in schooling. No, the problem is that there are so many that it is overwhelming. This is why your own identity is important. We often feel very passionate about the injustices we know personally. We have experienced them ourselves. But, also, we may have had loved ones go through things that have made a particular identity or issue of great concern for us. In other words, they can be deeply personal…or there might be a degree of separation where we’ve witnessed these injustices but not experienced them ourselves.
Speak from your heart in this Blog. You have noted 3 injustices. In this Blog, please note what they are. (If you’re uncomfortable writing them out publicly, then just send me an email about them at jsapp@csudh.edu.)
If I were to answer this Blog, it would look like this:
Honestly, there are many injustices that plague my soul, but here are 3 that I will speak about. (1) Bullying. I have had it as a child. And it has really impacted me, warped me. It has taken me years to deal with it. And now, I watch my own child go through bullying at school. It’s painful, to say the least. And I am often amazed at how schools will not support a child going through this. It takes some fierce advocacy. (2) Poverty. As a child raised in poverty I am always concerned about socioeconomic justice in schools. I don’t think it is something we talk well about. Or enough about. It is a total tragedy that if you really want to see which students will be successful in their education life that all you still have to do is look at their zip code. Lastly, (3) I am always interested in gender and how it plays out in society and schooling. I was a sissy boy as a child myself, and so schooling was very difficult for me. Now, raising a strong, independent girl, I also see how her own experience of identifying as a feminist in her grade school is usually met with negativity by her peers.
And I’ll do a fourth one too, just so you can see a model of one that is removed from my personhood. (4) Another deep concern I have is for children who are impacted by mental health concerns, whether it be their own or a guardian’s. I have a nephew who has some serious mental health issues and I have seen school brutalize him, not see him or help him or understand him. Of course, since he is in my life, I pay close attention to mental health topics and I do not feel we are well equipped to handle them as educators.
Again, for this Blog, finally list and speak a little about 3 injustices that you want to be a change agent for in the school where you’ll work and live. And, again, if you feel more comfortable emailing me personally about this blog, then please do!