Odds and Ends: Mandatory acceleration, land acknowledgment, step-parenthood, and more...
/Today I have a few odds and ends, so let’s just get into it.
I’ve put my finger on something. Regardless of where our children fall in terms of being directly impacted by inequity, the inequity and the downright evil in the world cheapens my love for my own children when I stand by in idle awareness. The separation of families at the detention centers — and more specifically, my knowing about it as it continues to happen — cheapens my love for my children. The ridiculous opportunity gaps in our schools and the spinning wheels that perpetuate them cheapen my love for my children. For all of us and all of ours.
Don’t you think?
Washington State became the first state in the country to adopt an automatic enrollment policy for advanced math, English, and science classes in all high schools. The policy, also known as Academic Acceleration, was adopted last month and is designed to reduce historic barriers to dual-credit and advanced-class enrollment, especially for underrepresented students.
In addition to reducing enrollment disparities in advanced courses, the attainment of college-level credit in high school also reduces financial barriers for post-secondary opportunities. Read more about mandatory acceleration here.
I have been thinking about it, and I may have been wrong about the suggestion of starting each school day with an indigenous land acknowledgment. I don’t know though. I very rarely get feedback, to be honest, and I haven’t gotten a whole lot about this topic either. I mostly just write and write and send it out into the abyss. But I’ve been thinking about this, and I’m having second thoughts.
I definitely like the idea of beginning school board meetings — the seat of power, in a sense — with a land acknowledgment, but we don’t need to replicate the rote brainwashyness of the Pledge of Allegiance. We wouldn’t want this to lose its meaning. But it is important for students to hear and say these words of acknowledgment and gratitude at least periodically, I remain convinced of that.
Also, to be clear, I’m not the right person to write that acknowledgment if we’re going to actually use one.
Time for another acknowledgment. My son, Julian, is technically my stepson. His biological dad isn’t in love with the fact that I refer to Julian as my son, but the fact is, whether or not he’s my biological offspring, he’s my son. He is not like a son to me. He is a son to me. And I know this for sure because I also have a biological son.
At the same time, I want to acknowledge this. If somebody else was out there telling the world that Zeke was his son, I’d be like… uh, actually, that’s a little hard to swallow. So, today, I’ll clarify that Julian is my stepson, but in general, I’ll continue to refer to him as my son, because I don’t want to fabricate some separation between Julian and his siblings that doesn’t actually exist.
We have, as always seems to be the case, more shenanigans and shadiness and downright poor governance happening with the Seattle School Board.
On the other hand, Rebeca Muniz is running for the Seattle School Board this fall. It’s time to get familiar with her.
We’ll talk more tomorrow in more detail about the school board.
For now, thanks for doing what you do. I appreciate you.
