And the Walls Come a Tumbling Down
Today's soundtrack: Joe Pass and Ella Fitzgerald-Duets in Hannover 1975
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There's something pleasing
about this disorder.
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Things fall down, walls, smoke stacks, buildings, monuments, and yes, sometimes stacks of wood, particularly if they are not placed on appropriately level footing. One might even say that entropy is inevitable, it is the nature of things, the resolution of order to disorder, or perhaps it is the disorder that is itself a form of order, the base nature of how things land when the mortar fails, or in a stormy night when there is the loud whump of a half cord of wood tipping over all at once in a pleasing coordinated collapse that gets the dog barking and makes all the humans stare out into the rain trying to imagine what it could be.
It is interesting that there are some sounds that are easily identifiable. I am familiar with the sudden and surprisingly brief collision of an automobile with an object. It is something that happens so quickly and definitively it is hard to reconcile with the broken glass and plastic, the leaking fluids, and misshapen metal. Similarly, today a military transport plane flew low overhead with the distinctive scream of military planes as they seem to defy the decorum of a rural sky. Some kind of training exercise I assume. And there was the time that my friend and I were driving to band practice in Shutesbury and we saw a light in the sky move towards us, cross the road and continue towards the little Toyota pickup truck in such a distinctive manner that we both remarked on it, and he slowed down. Off the side of the road was a little clearing and we both stood outside and watched as a large object slowly made its way across the clearing with a diamond shape of lights and an oscillating sound that was distinctly like what one might assume a UFO would sound like. And there is the sound that a presidency makes when it has lost all its bearings and is imploding with self loathing and ineptitude.
So, when I peered out into the darkness and could make out through the rain the supports of the wood rack all askew, and I recalled my own hesitancy at the stability of that location, the earth a little hummock by the foundation of the shed, I knew that sound was the sound of a falling wall of wood coming down to the earth from where it rose.
This evening, was about rebuilding. The way one clears rubble after a tragedy and begins anew. Of course, this was just a pretend tragedy. There was no real loss. There were no bombs. No loss of life. There was only the falling down of a thing that could easily be built gain. It is a good exercise in practice, that we can build a thing again. Make it more stable, learn from the errors of our ways.
I'll keep an ear out tonight, but I think today's work will stand, hopefully for all winter long.
Take care, be well, and reject white supremacy,
Leo
From Our Friends:
From REBLS:
REBLS RFP
Have a REBLS project you’d like to develop? Apply for a REBLS Seed grant for up to $10K for projects related to the mission of the network. The first set of applications are due Oct. 1, 2020. Applications will also be accepted on Feb. 1, 2021, and June 1, 2021.
Find the request for proposals
here on our website.
Upcoming Subnetwork Meetings Dates
Each subnetwork will hold a fall meeting on ZOOM. All REBLS members are invited to attend each of the meetings during which working groups will present status updates and network members can reconnect.
High School – Higher Ed: THURSDAY, NOV. 5th from 2 - 5 PM.
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Higher Ed - Workforce: WEDNESDAY, DEC. 16th from 11 AM - 2 PM.
This meeting will include an accommodation for lunch. |
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From EducationAdminWebAdvisor:
Inclusivity Series: Proven Tactics To Combat Systemic Racism Across Campus
Webinar 1: Microaggressions: How To Identify And Combat Them In Your Workplace And School Monday, October 5 3:00 PM Eastern; 2:00 PM Central; 1:00 PM Mountain; 12:00 PM Pacific - Microaggressions
- Implicit bias
- Intersectionality
- Impact on students, faculty, and staff
- Classroom, workplace, and life experiences
- Strategies to recognize biases and take steps to adjust
Webinar 2: Anti-Racism In And Out Of The Classroom:
How to Be An Ally For Higher Education Students Tuesday, October 6 3:00 PM Eastern; 2:00 PM Central; 1:00 PM Mountain; 12:00 PM Pacific - Laws that prohibit discrimination
- Steps to address real-world issues that affect students
- Strategies to help students feel they belong
- Racial conversations for courses
- Tactics to provide comprehensive support to students
Please join us for both sessions! | | |
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From Teaching Tolerance:
Practice Self-care as an Act of Resistance and Social JusticeSelf-care is critical for all educators. But for BIPOC educators, it can be a first step toward self-sustaining, anti-racist practices in schools. Teaching Tolerance Advisory Board member Jamilah Pitts writes that educators—particularly Black women educators and educators of color—must practice self-care and preservation as acts of resistance.
Podcast Episode: Jim Crow and Racial Terror
In the newest episode of our Teaching Hard History podcast, historian Stephen Berrey unpacks the mechanics and oppression of Jim Crow and the everyday ways Black people fought back against this system of terror and violence. The episode also includes a discussion on teaching about the racial terror of lynching with the creators of the TT film An Outrage.From Asian Americans Advancing Justice-LA:
Asian Americans Advancing Justice - Los Angeles (Advancing Justice-LA) has become one of the nation's largest civil rights organizations serving the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) community. Through impact litigation, direct services, and policy advocacy, we make sure that AANHPIs are not only seen but heard. We're dedicated to keeping families together and protecting immigrant communities. Learn More Here From Good Docs:
AND THEN THEY CAME FOR US
In 1942 President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, paving the way for the forced incarceration of 120,000 Japanese Americans. The highly acclaimed film brings history into the present as it follows Japanese Americans speaking out against the Muslim travel ban and other immigration policies.
From the UMass Arts Extension Service:
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Jump into Creative Women Leading Climate Action this week with events and workshops that will inspire you to be the change in climate justice! Following tonight's Keynote Lecture, JuPong Lin continues the virtual symposium on Thursday, October 1 with her workshop the CWLCA Story Circle. Share with other creatively minded changemakers how you came to be the artist and leader you are today. And join us on Friday, October 2, and experience Terre Parker's site-specific performance, For Her, and its YouTube premiere. Stick around and connect with Terre during the Q&A following the premiere.
Click here for more information and to register.
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From Mass Poetry:
Mass Poetry is searching for individuals and groups to submit proposals for the 2021 Massachusetts Poetry Festival (May 14-16, 2021). We are ecstatic to announce the return of the festival and to begin getting poets involved! We are committed to showcasing creative, innovative, and diverse events; including panel discussions, poetry readings, poetry slams, poetry with music, workshops, and other events that defy categorization. All events should be designed to take place virtually.
Questions? Email festival@masspoetry.org. |
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From ARISE:
How Do Teachers Learn to Work Against Oppressive Systems?
Vanderbilt University researchers, Grace Chen and Samantha Marshall, maintain that teachers can disrupt unjust policies in schools and create equitable STEM learning situations for marginalized students. Using a sociocultural perspective for their study, they partnered with a professional development organization and focused on secondary math teacher leaders in a large urban district. In this blog, they describe their findings and implications, providing insights from three case studies. Their full paper can be found here.
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Late season cucumbers can be so strange looking.
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Today's Online Teaching Tips:
From ACE Engage:
 | October 2, 12:30 p.m. (ET) |
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A Conversation on Student Success: Innovative Teaching for Success. The City University of New York (CUNY) Innovative Teaching Academy is a hub for effective online instruction. Félix V. Matos Rodríguez, chancellor, CUNY, and Sherri Hughes, AVP of professional learning, ACE, discuss quality teaching innovation for ACE and ACUE’s Conversations on Student Success. |
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From Academic Impressions:
From OpenStax:
The sudden move to online teaching last spring was frenzied and stressful for educators and students. In this recent blog post, Carmen Macharaschwili shared three strategies to help educators avoid an emergency remote learning move again and take on whatever this school year may bring. Read more
Did you know that OpenStax textbooks have saved students more than $1.2 billion dollars in less than a decade? Stating the importance of the education community in this milestone, OpenStax’s managing director Daniel Williamson said, “We are not alone in our understanding that free is the only price point that works to level the playing field for every student, and that flexibility affords learners and educators the academic freedom necessary to innovate in the classroom.”See our library
From the It Gets Better Project:
For educators and parents looking to champion inclusive learning — and for young LGBTQ+ people in need of inspiration — let this EduGuide offer a look at a life worth living, not in spite of who you are, but because of it. From SAGE Books:
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