Dear friends,
This Thursday will be my last day in a middle school classroom — actually, I teach in the cafeteria — until the fall. This will give me some time to reflect on the national discussion of what we should and should not be teaching young people.
The hidden curriculum is a term that may be unfamiliar to many people outside of the teaching profession. It isn’t so much a hidden agenda, as the big messages that undergird the official course of study. A formal definition is that
[t]he hidden curriculum refers to the unofficial rules, routines, and structures of schools through which students learn behaviors, values, beliefs, and attitudes. Elements of the hidden curriculum do not appear in schools’ written goals, formal lesson plans, or learning objectives although they may reflect culturally dominant social values and ideas about what schools should teach.
One view of the hidden curriculum is that it helps to create a unified society; a second, more critical view is that it perpetuates a stratified class system. As usual, the binary is too simple.
Critical race theory, which is not typically taught in public schools, is the theory, supported by considerable evidence,
that racism is not merely the product of individual bias or prejudice, but also something embedded in legal systems and policies.
The uproar over critical race theory is rooted in the fear that discussing the systemic and structural nature of racism is inherently divisive and a threat to the social strata, which are based on white supremacy.
The radical right wing has organized itself in opposition to critical race theory because they imagine that they are unharmed by racism and therefore believe that they should not work to dismantle it. Forgive my naiveté: I still find it ironic that fighting racism isn’t regarded as the best way to unify our society.
We are a long way from unity. The rift over guns is highlighting the fundamental fracture, as Republicans continue to be rewarded for their irrational commitment to ‘gun rights’ over those of children and other members of society.
Teaching about organizing and grassroots action is an interesting opportunity to expose the hidden curriculum, which so often works to placate upset students instead of addressing the very real problems that they have identified. Placating young people is a whole curriculum unto itself: don’t rock the boat, you don’t understand how things work.
When young people will not be placated, you get to see the possibilities of a different, better future.
On Friday, elementary school students walked out of school in Silver Lake, California to demand that adults
save kids, not guns!
David Hogg, Parkland shooting survivor and anti-gun activist, has said that this time is different.
Join the youth activists to March for Our Lives this Saturday. If you can’t march, donate to support organizing and lobbying efforts.
There has been a good deal of reflection on the anniversary of the murder of George Floyd and the continued calls for more policing. This reminds me of the people who said that Occupy was inconsequential. It reflects a failure to understand that movements build like big waves, with smaller lapping waves and undertow.
The protests two years ago after Derek Chauvin killed George Floyd have changed the conversation and paved the way for bigger changes to come.
Watch a 13-year-old speak out at a Grand Rapids city commission meeting about the death of Patrick Lyola.
JFREJ has partnerships with other community-based organizations
to realize a vision of public safety based not on policing and prisons, but on violence-prevention, education, and providing communities with the resources and freedom they need to thrive.
Use JFREJ’s call tool to urge your councilmember to invest in communities, not the NYPD.
When the NYS legislature passed the crypto mining moratorium, they advanced the only major climate legislation from the Climate Can’t Wait package of bills. This is an important win AND it is not secure until the Governor signs it.
The governor has not staked out a position and has punted on a renewed permit for an existing gas-powered cryptocurrency mining operation in the Finger Lakes region that spurred the push for the bill.
Call or write the Governor to tell her to sign the moratorium! This takes 30-seconds! If you called last week, call again.
For months, we’ve been commenting on the scoping plan to implement the state's climate goals. So far, in spite of thousands of comments, the plan still falls short of planning for a just transition. New York’s workers deserve a plan that delivers on just transition demands — prevailing wage, benefits, collective bargaining agreements, and support for displaced workers.
The climate and labor movements must come together in support of climate action.
Come to Wednesday’s rally and press conference to demand a just transition! This action is co-sponsored by NY Renews and ALIGN.
As usual, there’s a lot going on and it can feel overwhelming.
Here in NY, there are two primaries: June 28 and August 23. If you find this confusing, you are not alone. The June primary is for Governor, Lieutenant Governor, State Assembly, Judges, & Party Positions; there is early voting from June 18 - 26.
The August primary, which was scheduled because of the delay of the new district maps; it is only for State Senate and US House of Representatives. Early voting runs from August 13 - 21.
I’ll be writing more about our choices and I invite you to weigh in, as always, about the races that matter.
If local electoral politics aren’t enough for you, the Center for Common Ground has organized phone banking efforts ahead of June primaries in Virginia and Florida.
Call Black voters in Virginia's 8th CD and in South Carolina for their upcoming primaries.
with love,
L