I woke up on a sofa, a toddler fist pressed gently against my eye with what I expected was butt smell on her hand. "I'm definitely catching pink eye in a couple days". Don't be alarmed; these sentences flow from me quite regularly as my last toddler continues to wage war on my sanity and health. Anyone who's ever had a toddler knows that life wanes between manic and random. It's raw human nature concentrated in a small space which is a disastrous and endlessly awesome stream of possibilities. The toddler years are the first round of parenting badges that I can say, with honor and pride, I've earned twice. Thrown to the fire I've overcome the challenges of supermarket breakdowns; suicidal jumping flight attempts off shelving; wearing Halloween costumes or footed PJ instead of clothes; and car seat Hoodini-ism to name a few. However this last toddler run has proven to be a massive challenge in and of itself. The only badge I can say was easiest with my last toddler was, surprisingly, "potty training"... (Because she wanted big girl panties with her sisters). Other than that, I've felt like I must be doing something wrong... Either the point system has changed or the rules, but I'm not earning my badges as readily as a veteran of my caliber should.
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For me to talk about race is just adding to the fodder. This issue is too multilayered for that. I acknowledge that brown children are limited to the unimaginative capacities of mainstream white society. So on one layer this is straight forward racism, religious stereotyping and otherness brought to the forefront yet again. I Stand with Ahmed.
It’s common knowledge that the education system is touch and go. No matter what tax bracket you’re in, it’s no given that if you decide to attend the neighborhood school, your child will end up with an awesome experience (true for private school as well). That being said, it’s still very important to remember that parents play a critical role in advocating for the needs of their student and all students in a meaningful and respectful way. In doing this, we must remember that the edspace is not an easy profession and many of those employed by it, do so because they love it (or at one point did, which is another blog post for later). Teachers face many challenges outside of their control when attempting to educate our children and that should be supported by parents with a hands on approach at home. You shouldn’t expect your child to get everything they need to be lifelong learners solely from their school. As difficult as it actually is to run a classroom, we never consider the difficulty in keeping an entire school running and in order. Good leadership goes a long way and positive feedback loops actually serve to continue the school’s move in a positive direction. |
I'm a former teacher and former college athlete, currently working to make life more equitable for all people. My mission is to get parents to partner with their child's teacher.
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