Educator. Womanist. Fledgling Abolitionist. @HarvardEdLd Scholar. Figuring it all out, refusing to die in the process. Imagining a loving, grace-filled World.
I care about humanity. I care about the living earth. I care about there being a future for our children. My loyalty is to that. The era of colonialism & imperialism must end. The era of exploiting & dehumanizing others must end. Everywhere.
For years I have been anxious about every typo, calculation error, late arrival, and late email. Sure, some of my problem is a little bit ADHD, but the trauma endured by Black Women in elite spaces is very real.
Compounding years of crippling anxiety, depression, and Imposter Syndrome nearly imploded my career at Harvard. Also, Imposter Syndrome is super complicated for Black Women like me.
Win an award? They need diversity. Win a fellowship? Same. Accepted into a competitive program? Clearly the standards have been lowered. Attend a prestigious university? College isn’t everything.
For sure, Imposter Syndrome and anxiety are typical themes for high achievers AND in five minutes I can name dozens of instances where my intelligence, belonging, and competency has come into question.
We keep being told to extend grace to children and families.
But educators are often not being extended the same grace by administration.
THAT is what's driving me out of the profession.
Almost everyone agrees, teaching learning online is really difficult mostly unfun. Most teachers/professors prefer in person learning. We just don’t want to die or kill our loved ones and I think that’s reasonable.
As a 21 year education vet, it astounds me how quickly teachers are set to burn at the stake for reasonable demands like counselors, nurses, and pee breaks. Before you comment, read these demands and find the issue. https://t.co/YfYSDFpTza
You know why? Because teachers love kids. They also love their lives and the lives of their own children and their parents for whom they are caretaking.
My mama had a blade fall on her foot and needs to go to the ER. She is responsible for 40% of the visit. We have to decide between possibly bleeding to death or thousands for what could be a simple cut. There is so little grace in this country.
Daunte Wright. Adam Toledo. Makiyah Bryant. All were not old enough to legally drink in this country, but still were murdered by police in the last two weeks. It’s cool if you don’t really have it together right now.