#charlottesvillecurriculum (in the classroom)

Inspired by educators’ rapid, pro-active response to violent clashes in Charlottesville on August 12, 2017 I got together with 11 inspirational folks planning to work with some of the #charlottesvillecurriculum in Austin K-12 classrooms.

Elizabeth Roussos, Ginger Gannaway, Elena Galdeano, Ashley Muir, Kelley Gregg, Kaylyn Brune, Amber West, Janie Lewicki, me, & Crystal Fox + missing Natalie Becerra & kris sloan who left for class 😦

We started off with J Smooth because he gets us ready to disagree productively; to name and deconstruct racism in everyday conversations.

We moved to a choral reading of Jensen’s provocative opinion editorial “Why the US Will Never Transcend White Supremacy” in an August 20, 2017 issue of the Austin American Statesman (curated by our savvy Literacy Circle Mentor Ginger Gannaway), as he illustrates the ways US economic prosperity is built on a legacy of white supremacy. He challenges teachers to deconstruct and counter this white supremacy in their classrooms. We think high school students could have a thoughtful discussion about this op-ed and might identify the myriad places they see the legacy of white supremacy operating in society and daily actionable steps.

To locate the #charlottesvillecurriculum activities in time and place, we analyzed a Southern Poverty Law Center timeline of confederate monument installations

and an infographic map of states where confederate monuments are located.

We listed additional events we think lend context to the August 12, 2017 violent clashes that resulted in the injuries of 19 and the death of 1 counter protestor.

We moved to an activity titled, “The Story Behind the Photo” created by @jarredamato, which asks us to caption and predict the story behind this photo.

Amato asks us to read a first person account from one of the photo’s central figures, Corey Long, and invites us to discuss what we can learn from primary as well as the importance of interrogating their production.

We segued from small groups to sharing ways we would integrate, modify, build on and beyond this activity.

Story Behind the Photo Love

Story Behind the Photo Tweaks + Adds

We closed distributing children’s and YA books and another photo analysis activity curated from lists in the #charlottesvillecurriculum feed. Teachers also picked up a copy of Southern Comfort by James McPherson who summarizes and locates some of the crucial arguments in Gary Gallagher’s The Myth of the Lost Cause and Civil War History.

We think this video narrated by Colonel Ty Seidule, West Point Professor of History is a useful text for translating some of the article’s ideas about Civil War myths for students.

I look forward to our next sessions together this semester and would love to hear stories of #charlottesvillecurriculum in YOUR classrooms!

 

 

 

street frog dissection…name your parts

Frog Dissection Quiz

Let’s see how much we’ve learned with that frog dissection app.

Visual note taking

It’s one of those things I’ve always known is good for you, but had never really tried to do. Then, all of a sudden, I was reading and taking notes about the (im)materiality of literacies, looked down, and I was doing it – organically – and it felt really useful and I wanted to tell the world all about its power and how it forced me to slow down and really think about how I could capture the mini idea the authors were talking about in a quick sketch I might return to at a later date. It’s one of those things I had always known is good for you. Makes me wonder if there was ever anything to all those doodles I worked on during lectures in high school and college.
  

Texture in Texting

My beautiful seven year old adding layers of making and analog texture to her digital texts with her cousin. 

Old Books in Lockhart, Texas Library

Paging through the time capsule at the Lockhart, Texas branch, I was inspired to consider what happens when libraries cull their collections. Often I encounter the sales in the spring or summer when old books are placed on carts for 10 cents or donated to the goodwill. Obviously these books aren’t getting burned, but these sifting practices take a bit of the history out of childrens collections. Made me really wonder about all the interesting questions kids might ask when confronted with more books from older generations. Also made me think about all the opportunities for critical history and literacy we lose when we avoid or eliminate everyday old books from shelves. Just a few skims and cover reviews, provoked so many questions for me about changes in technology, propriety, regionalism, conceptions of diversity. These older editions are maintaining some of the history in Lockhart and making updates and shifts in history visible. What happens to older texts when librarians update collections in big city libraries I tend to frequent? I wonder how it varies. I’m guessing economics has something to do with it, but I think this is one of those situations where the upside down economics might have been worked with intelligently. There was a huge collection of childrens books in Spanish and a whole room dedicated to young adults with YALit and computers. How are the collections revised in your local library?

Gender Norming Texas? Style

Two Saturdays ago we took a trip to Academy for running shoes (for Rob) and a ballet skirt (for Nina). Ione made a bee line for the pink crossbows and rifles. I rushed to my phone to share, but realized this might only be disconcerting to me. Always room to be surprised at new target markets my children are. We didn’t buy the crossbow or the rifle, but is there a productive question or thought provoking activity to begin the critical analysis of gendered norms with a 2 year old? What would you do? Say?

Photographing the Dead

I started writing on a walk with Nina and Sadie when we encountered this armadillo that had passed away. We took a photo because it was so arresting and wanted to share it with Rob who promised we’d see another armadillo when we missed the live one crossing the street earlier that month. While just SEEING the armadillo gave me pause, the act of taking its picture caused me to wonder about the ethics of photographing the dead. I thought if it was a butterfly, I wouldn’t have paused. There was some of me in this armadillo. I guess there still is. It also seemed as if it was asleep and photographing the sleeping has always been something I’ve been uneasy about it (although there is something beautiful about ANYBODY sleeping).

A Very Different Commute

Things I’ve learned in Texas

bed

1. The best thing to do with green peaches is peel, cut and toss them with olive oil, salt, sugar, pepper and chopped mint.

2. The only thing you should be doing from 1pm-5pm is playing in water on the porch in your diaper under the fan.

3. Best place to spy on novice ballerinas is Ballet Austin Saturday mornings downtown.

4. It’s really hard and scary to take 4 children under 8 years old to a wall to wall candy store. Be ready to break large lollipops by accident and five finger/sample something like loose salt water taffy or bulk candy unintentionally.

Funny feelings like orientation week all over again