Our school staff were assigned to read The Little Book of Restorative Justice in Education last year. Unfortunately, there were no students physically in school, so there were no opportunities to practice the lessons. There has been no follow-up this year. This lack of follow-up feels all too familiar. Our School Improvement Plan has AfricanContinue reading “No follow-up”
Category Archives: White/European Descent
School redistricting changes home value
A coworker was discussing how the value of their home would likely go down because of the projected redistricting of schools. The new schools their home was districted to were deemed of less value because of the demographics of students and families going there. They did not have any students in school and were notContinue reading “School redistricting changes home value”
Neighbors
I witnessed a White neighbor being friendly and kind to Black neighbor, but when that White neighbor interacted with me, they said things about the Black neighbor that were negative. This made me sad, because my White neighbor knows how they should be acting and thinking, but they aren’t doing so with feeling. I wasContinue reading “Neighbors”
Let’s actually go there
I was meeting someone for first time and asking about her work in the community. A long time resident came up and started talking about how he knew her. He said that she was one of the only Hispanic leaders in Columbia and she was such an asset. She said graciously I am not oneContinue reading “Let’s actually go there”
Distrust of the Medical System
At work, we have recently implement a COVID vaccine mandate for the team with medical and religious exemptions. This has sparked several conversations with team members, but the most impactful were those with team members of color and their expressed historical and systemic distrust of the medical community. This distrust is preventing them from feelingContinue reading “Distrust of the Medical System”
Heartwarming return
I had the pleasure of welcoming back a customer to the library that I haven’t seen for years because this black gentleman moved away for other opportunities. He was surprised that I remembered him even though he remembered me as a HCLS Instructor. I said to him that I remembered his kind eyes. Politely andContinue reading “Heartwarming return”
Challenging comfort, moderation, and norms
I’m still so discouraged by the level of white entitlement and prioritization of their “comfort” we still see in our community. By my “liberal” white friends who express concern about issues that are served up to them by “moderate” and right-wing media explicitly fear mongering and seeking political advantage with white outrage. These issues areContinue reading “Challenging comfort, moderation, and norms”
School changes
Recently I was at outdoor book club in my neighborhood and several friends with high schoolers were talking. They said that how math is taught at the high school level needs to change with the influx of kids (meaning the redistricting). At least one of the friends is a teacher. Redistricting is a big issueContinue reading “School changes”
Representation challenges
There are community-based organizations that struggle constantly to hear from new people and compel/motivate/provide avenues for all people of all backgrounds to be involved. We are in a constant circle of hearing that our elected board is not diverse enough (which is true and very apparent) and simultaneously seeing minimal turnout to vote for someoneContinue reading “Representation challenges”
The Comment Section
Every time a news story is posted online, comments say things like “Typical” or “Why no mug shot?” or “We are becoming Baltimore.” – It makes it seem like the county is divided along “us” and “them” lines, and is disheartening.