#teaching my kids about disabilities
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My three year old daughter came home with a Minnie Mouse figurine, distraught. The plastic toy was missing an arm, and my daughter insisted she couldn’t play with it because it was broken.
I told her that she could still play with it! That some people were born without an arm or that they might get hurt and lose an arm, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t still play or have fun. I explained that some people might get a prosthetic or just have a stub. And she asked what a prosthetic was. I showed her a picture and she was like, “oh! A robot arm!”
When my husband came home, she thrust the toy at him and told him, “Minnie needs a robot arm.”
He was very confused, but he prints and paints miniatures from various table top games. My daughter refers to them as “daddy’s statues.” She knew he could help Minnie. So he dutifully printed her out a robot arm from a warhammer 40k model on our 3d printer, and then they painted it pink and purple together.
All of this to say, look at Minnie Mouse and her new prosthetic!!
[Image description: three photos of the abovementioned Minnie Mouse figurine. One hand is the classic giant gloved Minnie Mouse hand: the other is a robot arm, palm upraised toward the viewer, clumsily painted the same bubblegum pink as the rest of the figurine. /end ID]
Image ID courtesy of @wanderingthunderstorm
Here’s a post about how to create smoother miniatures for the anon. It’s about your printer. (Includes more typical examples of my husband’s miniature painting).
#Minnie mouse#warhammer 40k#prosthetics#for toys#Minnie needs a robot arm#my daughter said so#teaching my kids about disabilities#physical disabilities#cute story about a kid
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Controversial take but it’s actually not the job of random disabled people to educate your kids on disabilities. If your child stares, asks a rude question, or gets in the way of a disabled person, the responsibility falls on you to deal with that. It’s not the child’s fault for being curious or uneducated (that is quite literally the JOB of children) but it’s also not the job of a literal stranger to parent your kid for you.
#'but teaching kids about disabilities leads them to be adults who are less ableist' yes I agree.#but a random disabled person just trying to live their life is not required to teach kids about disabled people#as the parent it is YOUR job to educate your child about disabled people.#I'm just trying to get a fucking bagel Sharon.#disabled#disability#physical disability#ableism#my ramblings
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Costas Mandylor being adorable in Scent of Murder (2002)
#costas mandylor#scent of murder#my gifs#last year i made the disabled kids i teach watch this movie because they love dogs and they had to write five sentences about the film#one of them wrote “the big man (costas) is very cute but the dogs are cuter”#movieedit#filmedit#cinemapix#costasmandyloredit
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Moral Orel doesn't seem 100% like a show I'd feel seen in if you don't know me but then I remember the episode with the special ed kids and underneath the usual satire on extremist bible belt religion it reminds me WAY too much of how actual special ed departments treated me and other kids growing up.
Like the writers must HAVE BEEN THERE IN LIFE, man. I'd kill to sit down with Dino Stamatopoulos and find out what the fuck inspired him and the other writing staff that day.
#husbandothings#moral orel#bonus fun tag rant? bonus fun tag rant...apparently#in those departments you are immediately written off as a tragic forever toddler by at least 50% of the staff regardless of your disability#there's good ones but the bad ones bring the fun spicy trauma#it doesn't matter how smart you actually are you gotta draw the sad face on that boy on the comic sans worksheet at the age of 15#in your free lesson spaces that you got because of reasons#if someone tells me they're a teaching assistant or have “qualifications” in autism and special needs development i immediately distrust#because I have never met a neurotypical person with those qualifications who knows how to treat kids like humans especially autistic kids#funniest part? I was mostly in the special ed department because of my hearing and not totally my undiagnosed autism#and a little because of wonky emotional development from get this...a freaking religious school#like i see adults in the show and i see the headteacher who tried to tell my parents i should forgive the bullies because jesus would#even though the truth is way more nuanced but he just wanted to wash his hands of it#it's funnier than it should be because that teacher would fit right in to this show for that and additional reasons I won't state here#my family were atheists but thought the school would be good#the weird thing is at that time as a little kid I liked the idea of believing in god but nothing that happened proved Him to me#and moral orel hits because it resonates with the fact i genuinely believe religion can do good and it's all about the people#the ones who want to use that faith for good in the world and surviving rough crap and not to do things that would make jesus flip tables#that has stuck with me for over a decade as has the people who felt the show reinforced their christianity#but anyway
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scribbly first date type affair (continuation of my modern au stuff)
#witch hat tag#orufrey#idk when the next modern au thing will be so i'll just post this by itself. hehe#that art was one of qifrey's first drawings. it was of a creepy eye. (it was around the time he got glasses as a kid)#(and was told that he might lose his sight completely one day so he became an emo because he already wanted to be an artist#like beldaruit who ran his foster home where he encouraged kids to draw art to express their feelings.)#and an insidious deviantart group called The Brimhats idk stole it & reposted it. he never got to the bottom of who exactly did it.#but one day. they will fucking suffer.#(he believes their goal was to develop AI art as they said stuff like 'all art should belong to everyone anyway' & 'there shouldnt be rules'#but actually they were probably just regular mean ppl who have moved on to new things in life than stealing kids' art on deviantart.#who knows though.) i want people to retain their disabilities or general tragedies like beldaruit would be in a wheelchair#and coco's mum is in a coma. but its just so funny if qifrey just has regular bad eyesight#and it's so cute that he would say he doesnt think of beldaruit as a dad & is distant with him but now basically runs a foster home too#where he doesnt just encourage like he was encouraged but actively teaches kids from sad backgrounds to become wonderful artists one day#anyway i am so fucking hungry now goodbye#P.S. BELDARUIT IS NOT OLD !!!!!!! i mean if qifrey is late 20s or older in canon like i want... i guess he..but.... NO !!!!!! 😭#*edits in some follow-up drawings*#oru: i couldn't c-c-confess my feelings bc it always seems like he's worried about something..i shouldnt bother him..#qif: *always worried about how to confess his feelings*#ive decided meeting at 7 on da is kind of ridiculous actually. i think they probably meet at like age 10 in canon..not immediately =_=#since beru-sama is like 'he finally found a friend'. whatever... this'll be my last art post for a while probably so see ya <3
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Tagged by @jmrothwell! 💕
Are you named after anyone?
I’m not entirely sure… I have a very vague memory of my mum telling me my English name came about bc it sounded similar to a Chinese singer… but I don’t trust my memory and I’m too afraid to ask again 😬
I don’t think I’m named after anyone re: my Chinese name. Digressing here but was recently reminded that it’s a typically masculine name and that made me feel something… my English name is quite feminine so…
Wondering how my parents came to that conclusion when naming me… wondering if they knew from the start that I had both masculine and feminine energy and needed my names to reflect that or something… much to think about
When was the last time you cried?
Last night 🥲
Do you have kids?
I don’t have my own, but sometimes I refer to my students as my kids. Not for sentimental reasons tho, it’s just easier to say less syllables 👍
Do you use sarcasm a lot?
No, not at all (deadpan) (lying) (so much)
Sometimes I will deliver things in a way where even I can’t tell whether I’m being sarcastic or not
What sports do you play/have played?
God, my school valued sports so much that I’ve probably tried every sport under the sun.
Ones I regularly trained in at school: tennis, basketball, softball, netball, table tennis, swimming
At uni (all dance genres): tap, jazz, ballet
I did yoga and Pilates for a bit after graduating, but I haven’t been able to do much physical activity the past two years for health reasons 🥲 I would so love to be able to do dance classes again. I really found my groove in third year uni about it and I miss that a lot
What’s the first thing you notice about people?
Idk, their clothes I guess
What’s your eye colour?
Rich soil, calligrapher’s ink, a stargazer’s dream. The distance between our feet and the ground. The part of the ocean that lets no light because she loves us too much. The place in time that promises safety, protection, stability.
Endless, endless, and full of possibilities.
(Let me romanticise my black eyes, dammit)
Scary movies or happy ending?
Happy endings for SURE. I absolutely cannot do anything scary. I can’t even watch The Owl House bc the monsters in it look too scary 😭 I’ve been recommended it so many times by so many people, but I just cannot 😭😭😭
Any special talents?
Being naturally good with kids? I know I’m a teacher and this will sound really awful, but I………..don’t actually like kids. Obviously I still treat them with kindness and respect, and I can tolerate them enough to do my job properly. I can (and do) bond with them and form meaningful relationships with them. Takes a village to raise a child, and I’m part of the village, y’know?
Idk what it is, but kids just like me for some reason, without me having to really try. I find just being my usual sarcastic self who doesn’t hide when I’m pissed off is somehow very charming for kids
Jokes aside, it’s definitely a skill I’ve had to develop and refine, especially for teaching. But I’ve just been naturally good with kids since forever—I think being part of the eldest cousins pack in my family has helped a lot in that regard, bc most of my cousins are 8+ years younger than me. So, experience, I guess.
Where were you born?
In a hospital
What are your hobbies?
I am in dire need of new hobbies that aren’t physically taxing on my arm, but currently:
Drawing, reading, writing, baking, singing, playing violin or ukulele, sewing/patching
And this……is technically one of my jobs but I also just do it for fun: acting/scene/script analyses
Gif makers I am making out with you so hard bc i do so much acting analysis from watching individual gifs. IT’S JUST. SO GOOD. EVERY CHOICE IS DELIBERATE, and you can see that in a 2 second gif. You won’t believe how much you can take away from a fleeting, seemingly insignificant moment in a piece of cinema memorialised into a gif lovingly made by a passionate fan. Gifsets are arguably what got me into acting in the first place
So like obviously having a degree in acting means i am also just a huge huge nerd about scene/script analysis too, and it’s so TASTY being able to draw up a whole character profile, backstory, personality, objectives and obstacles, and so many more minute details. From like. A 3-word sentence spoken by a background character that never comes up again. IT’S SO GOOD. I could keep going on about this but this is also getting very long so I shall end it here
I JUST REALLY LOVE ACTING 😭
Do you have pets?
My dog :-) and 3 very perseverant fishies 💕
How tall are you?
Enough to reach the top of a door frame on my tippy toes
Favourite subject in school
Studio Art, but only bc my school cut the Drama dept while I was there :/ I did still really love Studio tho—maybe too much? Idk it definitely contributed to my arm issues bc I had to do a folio each for both Art and Studio Art (two diff subjects)
Dream job
No job. I do whatever I want. I heal whenever I need. I live free of capitalistic responsibilities. I live. I live. I live.
I tag (no pressure to do this): @noworneverphantom @fiddlepickdouglas @drifting-in-otter-space @badsalmonella
#mine#tag game#thanks for tagging <3#it has been a day and an age since I’ve had any energy to do anything like this#I’ve taken the first week of term off this week bc i am still. having major major health issues. and it is not fun#it’s not relaxing if you’re thinking about what you could be doing is it?#yeah… it’s hard#re: last question ‘dream job’ <- if i absolutely had to choose it would be acting for sure#but between teaching and my health… it’s very rare that I’ll be able to do anything super meaningful career-wise in acting#I’ve turned down so many auditions to the point where my agent no longer gives me anything#maybe like one brief every 6 months now#it’s… sad. i love acting so much#but even if i quit teaching. it’s not a stable career. there’s no guarantee of a job#and it’s expensive being an actor#even more so being a disabled actor#and i like teaching. there’s a lot to gain from it. maybe not financially lol but personally. there’s a lot I’ve learnt that i can apply to#many other areas of life. including acting. so there’s that.#but teaching is not my forever job. i feel like. my health isn’t even cut out for teaching#I’ve had to take so many weeks off. i always feel guilty for leaving my kids when i do#it’s hard not to feel responsible for them even tho I’m only 30 minutes of their weekly schedule#there’s a lot to. unpack here. but we don’t have time for that#this is supposed to be a fun lil tag game but it’s 11:40pm so I’m shifting into unfiltered mode#alright well there’s that#this was legitimately fun to do tho even after all that#i love being tagged in things. even if i don’t get a chance to get to them#pls tag me in more things#<3#personal
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you know when you get those adverts for like protein shake meal replacement bullshit products and people say shit like ‘im just so busy with work i never have the time for breakfast or lunch or dinner or snacks, so this horrible brown powder milkshake is a huge life TIMEsaver!’ and ‘its so convenient! i just swallow a glass of tasteless powder to meet my basic vitamin needs and then i have all the time my employer wants from me!’ and then you have to keep watching the unskippable ad only for the person not to become immediately radicalised by what they were just forced to say. I genuinely cannot fathom how people write these scripts, say them out loud, film these videos, edit them and publish them and nobody involved in that process is going insane. are you even listening? are you reading those words? cant you see the exploitation of workers is forcing you to stop performing even the most necessary of tasks like eating real food? and cant you see we have been so convinced that is normal that there are entire businesses and ad campaigns based on it?
food, actual real good normal food, is a human right, but also part of your culture, your family, your community. Its a source of joy, health, fun, love and creativity. please dont let these fucked up companies convince you its just time that could be better spent slaving away for the rich monsters that hold your contract.
#this is all so dystopian on so many levels#i also want to make clear bc if this ever sees the light of day outside my internet circle#that i am not talking about meal replacements for people who actually need them#if you have a chronic illness/disability or just some other physical condition that means you need to recieve your nutrition through#meal replacements of any kind - this post is not about that situation#this is about capitalism convincing the general public (forgive the phrasing) that people should forgo proper food in order to create more#time for corporations to exploit out of workers#i think (as some recovering (sort of) from an ed) our society has warped the way we view food and nutrition so disgustingly#and not just in the body image ‘health’ obsessed way#but also in this way and im sure many others too#so many foods or meals are marketed as prepare/cooked in x minutes and no prep and super convenient and has daily dose x x and x vitamins#LIKE. WHAT ABOUT TASTE. WHAT ABOUT THE JOY OF COOKING A BIG MEAL WITH YOUR FRIENDS. WHAT ABOUT FAMILY DINNERS.#WHAT ABOUT THE PRIDE YOU FEEL FINALLY GETTING A RECIPE RIGHT#WHAT ABOUT MAKING UR FOOD LOOK CUTE FOR FUN. WHAT ABOUT TEACHING KIDS HOW TO COOK. WHAT ABOUT SHARING FOOD WITH UR NEIGHBOURS.#WHAT ABOUT FAMILY RECIPES AND SECRET INGREDIENTS AND FEELING FULL AND HAPPY.#CAN ANYONE HEAR ME.
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imagine if someone said this shit about any other group of human beings lol some people are this website are actually sociopathic. of course parents should stop their kids from doing this but why the fuck are you blaming the kid for their natural curiosity? most people tried doing this as children
#i did this and im definitely not a fucking rapist. why the fuck would you say this#kids are the most vulnerable group in society. stop talking about them like this#if you don't enjoy children's company that's fine but there's no excuse to speak of them so cruelly#they're little people with undeveloped brains still trying to figure out how the world works#imagine if someone said this about a highly disabled person who has the impulse control of a child lol all hell would break loose#but somehow it's okay to say about an actual child. wtf#i still remember being so hurt as a kid by people who didn't hide their disdain for children#and child hate seems to be getting even more common now. i don't want my son experiencing this shame inducing shit#i make sure he's well behaved and doesn't bother people but sometimes he tries to do stuff that's natural for a kid#and he shouldn't be made to feel like theirs something wrong with him when he's still learning#*there's#treating kids like this when what they need is guidance and gentle discipline to teach them the ways of the world#is what creates fearful and shame filled adults#again there's nothing wrong with not wanting kids or not enjoying their company but blatant hate is fucked up#children are just as human as any other vulnerable group#i really hope this person is just a 15 year old edgelord. i see way too many adults like this tho#especially on reddit lmao that website is such a cesspool
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i don’t. know what to do with myself rn
#i work at an SA hotline on the 12am-4am shift#i just got off a 2.5 hour call#she called in at 3:53 when i was just about to start packing up for bed#i thought it would be like. half an hour or 45 minutes at most but.#now it’s almost 7am#it was a really difficult call too. god she was dealing with so much at once#she hadn’t slept in 3 days because she was afraid to take her pain medication#i ended up staying on the phone with her while she took it and then guiding her breathing until she was ready to sleep#im really glad that she finally did it and that i was able to help her in an immediate and concrete way#but honestly? i mostly just feel fucking Weird#i don’t even know how to describe the feeling it’s just Weird#maybe it’s the exhaustion? i’ve been awake for 24 hours now#and 8 of those were at my internship where. i mean. im a teaching assistant at a school for kids with severe cognitive disabilities#it is. So Much. all of the time#so it would definitely Make Sense to be feeling Strange considering that Friday morning currently feels like it was 2 weeks ago#but i feel like that’s not the answer. like. it’s not the exhaustion#there’s something else#but i don’t know what and it’s bothering me#and i don’t know what to do with myself now#like it’s fully daylight outside and my sublet curtains are thin as fuck#there’s no way im gonna be able to sleep#but im So Tired#i just. don’t. know what to do with myself#it’s just a#??????
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as a teacher, reading about nex makes me fucking furious because I've seen that hate in the students I've taught. people who say young people aren't bigoted and once the old fucks die off the world will be perfect have no idea how cruel children can be when influenced by society's bigotry. while working with 8th grade, i had multiple situations of children harassing lgbt students, screaming slurs at black students, and mocking disabled, especially autistic, students. i was misgendered and degendered by these kids daily without them even knowing i was trans or gay, just that i was a feminine man. i had to dress hyper-masculine to have a smidgen of respect, and god forbid i let my disability show.
but what sticks with me the most when thinking about nex is when i had to intervene when a child proudly announced that she would murder her baby if they were trans (specifically nonbinary) because nb people were freaks, fully aware the person sitting next to her was trans. when i tried to intervene, i was disciplined because i was 'teaching my personal politics'.
this is what our schools look like. when people say they cant believe these girls could do this, i shake my head because, to me, it's no wonder nex is no longer with us. nex was a child with intersecting minority identities. our society is cruel and bigoted, and it is influencing our children. we HAVE to fix society because until we do, kids will stay cruel and kids will keep dying
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im venting in the tags
ignore me lmao
#vent#Anyway. im a personal needs aide in a skills classroom. what does this mean???? they stuck me in a skills xl#classroom & the teacher straight up wants compliance & not learning. my kid also has a nurse who is so abelist that she regularly refers to#the kid as essentially a bump on a log. (paraphrasing) oh and tje teacher has written him off as needing a dif skills level & doesnt have#ANY real lesson plans for my kid so i have to make up lessons and adapt to his skill level as needed. I'm basically making sure he meets his#IEP goals with no real help & everyone around me sure hell never get it. which btw. He does. It takes a little bit cuz dudes often exhausted#and so its like he can only do a few lessons a day cuz it takes him so much energy to go to school & his parents load him up w/ tasks &#therapies so hes like ALWAYS busy even tho he needs rest sometimes ya know? and like its u g h u g g g g g h h h h h h#And its like jfc can we manage expectations & assume competence hes disabled hes not a superhero but hes also not USELESS#plus even though hes literally had a major seizure everytime hes come to school w/ his nonregular nurse his family decided to send him in#today with a new nurse LUCKILY no seizures today & the school nurse is also teaching me his action plan & how to use the gbutton so i can#do the job of the nurse if need be. Which honestly i do need to cuz his regular nurse is. BAD at her job#like complains to me about documenting incidents bad. Gets upset with me for tracking the bathroom habits cuz it looks like were not doing#the job. which. BITCH I NEED 2 PEOPLE TO LIFT HIM HES 16 AND YOU NEVER LISTEN TO ME WHEN IT COMES TO THE SCHEDULE YOU 'KNOW BETTER' AND#REFUSE TO. YOU ARENT DOING THE JOB. WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN#and she may or may not take vitals at home but she sure as shit never does at school even tho apparently shes supposed to
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Hey guys what if- i know this is a wild one- teach kids about disability from a young age
Wild i know
#disability#social justice#disabilties#teach kids about disability please- i wish my parents taught me but i guess tumblr is just as good
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PSA for fellow dog owners: Keep your dog on a leash when out in public, and teach your kids to keep them leashed too. Also, if you're dog is bigger than your kids, don't let them take them for walks unsupervised.
I just got thrown to the ground by an overly friendly St. Bernard dog that was about twice the size of the kids walking it. Not a leash or adult in sight.
My disabled ass now has a bleeding, subluxated knee, a subluxated hip, and my hands are shredded from the asphalt. The kids were frantic and in tears as the eldest tried to haul their dog off me, all the while telling me he was really friendly and didn't mean any harm.
Despite the excruciating amounts of pain I was in, I very gently told them that regardless of intent, harm had been caused, and they needed to keep their dog on a leash and teach it to sit and stay and not to charge at people and knock them to the ground. I'm now going to be unable to move without assistance for the next few days, all because a dog wasn't on a leash nor properly supervised.
Leash your dogs. Thank you.
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i talked about it a little bit already but i have things to say about it. for context, i was born with amniotic band syndrome. the amniotic band wrapped around my left wrist in utero and stunted the growth of my hand. i was born with about half a palm, four nubs for fingers, and a twisted half of a thumb. i can open and close my thumb and pinkie joint like a claw.
yesterday at work i had a shift in the room with 5-10 year old kids. i had my left hand hidden in my sleeve (a bad habit of mine). a kid asked if he could see my hand, and even though internally i was debating running into traffic, i said “sure you can” and showed him my hands. he stared for a moment, looking disturbed, and then said “i don’t want to look at that anymore”. that hurt to hear, but i understand that kids are new to the world and he probably didn’t mean it out of malice. i put my hand away again, told him that it was okay, and that i was just born that way.
he then went on to talk about how he knows a kid with a similar hand to mine and called it “ugly”. i told him that wasn’t a very kind thing to say and that he wouldn’t feel good if someone said that to him, and he replied that no one would say that to him—because he has “normal hands”, and he’s glad he does because otherwise he’d be “ugly”. i tried to talk with him for a bit about how everybody is born differently, but he just started talking about a girl he knows with a “messed up face” and pulled on his face to make it look droopy. i went on some more about how it wasn’t very kind to talk about people that way, but the conversation moved on to something else.
i’ve told my supervisors about it and they’re going to have a talk with his mom. what i wanted to say is this: i’m genuinely not upset with the kid. kids are young and naturally curious, and he clearly simply hasn’t been taught about disabled people and kind ways to speak to/about others. which is why i am upset with his parent(s). i know he’s encountered visibly deformed/disabled people before (he said so himself!), yet his parent(s) clearly haven’t had any kind of discussion with him about proper language and behavior. i knew from birth that some people were just different than others, but my parents still made a point to assert to be kind to and accepting of others. i wonder if adults in his life are the type of people to hush him and usher him away when he points out someone in a wheelchair. that kind of thing doesn’t teach politeness. it tells children that disabled people are an Other than can’t be acknowledged or spoken about; which, to a child, means disability must be something bad.
i’m lucky enough that this was a relatively mild incident, and that i’m a grownup with thicker skin. i’m worried about the other kids he mentioned to me. has he been talking to them this way? when i was a kid, i had other kids scream, cry, and run away at the sight of my hand. or follow me around pointing at me and laughing at me. or tell me i couldn’t do something because i was ugly or incapable or whatever. one time a girl at an arcade climbed to the top of the skeeball machine, pointed at me, and screamed at me to put my hand away and wouldn’t stop crying until she couldn’t see me anymore. another time, a kid saw my hand, screamed at the top of her lungs, and ran into my friend’s arms, crying hysterically about how i was scaring her. that second incident made me cry so hard i threw up when i got home. i can kind of laugh it off now, but having people react to me that way as a child is something i’m still getting over. why do you think i have a habit of keeping my hand in my sleeve? it just irritates me to see children that have clearly not been taught basic manners and kindness—their parents Clearly missed something pretty important .
#and for the record i consider my deformity pretty mild. maybe i’m just used to it but things like amniotic band syndrome can turn out a lot#more severe. i rarely even call myself disabled because i don’t feel like the term is applicable to me. i’m more hindered by like#my adhd anxiety depression etc than i am my hand. so for those kids to react that way to what i THINK#is a pretty small thing. makes me worry about people that are more visibly disabled#Kids.That are more visibly disabled
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idk how out province teaches reading. ill have to ask my education student coworker next shift we have together
#my grandma wrote her master's thesis on teaching reading to mentally disabled kids back in the 70s#i should read it & see what it was about
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"the public education system is intently evil and all teachers are abusive because it was the worst experience ever for me personally"
guys, look, I'm legitimately sorry that happened to you. that's fucked up. it shouldn't have happened, and it shouldn't be allowed to happen again to you or anyone else. I'm sorry.
public school was hard for me too, at times, and I'm still suffering the consequences for the harsh grading, the arbitrary deadlines, the hours of completely useless-to-me homework. I could name a few teachers who have been pretty fucking terrible. the fact that nobody considered getting me evaluated for ADHD has had an impact on my self image and academic success that I can't erase.
and also.
I grew up in an area where education, in particular, is incredibly progressive-leaning. educators are working really hard to create and try out education philosophies and practices that prioritize kids and their learning, rather than teachers and what they think kids should learn.
My sex ed was comprehensive, and came entirely from school. My gay sixth grade teacher taught me about HIV/AIDs in a useful, accurate way. In high school, I learned about the way orgasms work & I was prepared not to feel shame for normal stuff.
I learned that Communism was not what the USSR actually practiced, and what it really means. I learned about atrocities and, specifically, the genocide of indigenous people committed in/by the US. I learned about the military industrial complex, the school-to-prison pipeline, and I learned about manifestations of racism specific to my local area. I learned about Stonewall, and the intersection of the civil rights movement with gay rights and disability justice.
My creative writing teacher taught us about LSD, and the real reasons we shouldn't do it, after a hilariously ineffective assembly run by some local cops. He spoke gently, carefully, and emphatically about his friends and his own experiences. Later in the semester, he read us a story he wrote about two gay men finding each other in a deeply homophobic environment.
My sci-fi teacher made me feel safe & seen as a kid with "weird" interests. My US History teacher helped me research and put together a 10-page paper on the modern relevance and mission of Feminism. My government teacher made me feel appreciated for the work I put into the class, and the thought I put into what I said in it, even though he disagreed with a lot of it. My sixth grade teacher bought me books to read with his personal money, whichever ones I asked for. My third grade teacher made me feel safe. My science teacher in middle school made me excited for and passionate about science, and saw and nurtured the effort I put into her class.
A lot of stuff sucks, absolutely. But I am seeing new teaching methods being tried out all the time, and I am watching teachers get really excited when I teach their students about the roots of modern graffiti in US black history & to question property laws, and just...
There's hope. there are so many people doing so much work to make things better. so many people agree with you on what education should be, and are trying so fucking hard to put that into action, and so many public schools- not just teachers, but whole schools and even districts- are really doing that work. so much is getting better.
I had more to say, about necessary childcare and trusted adults and outside contacts and time away from abusive family. But like. Please just sit down and listen to more people on this, and please talk to educators and education professionals about what's really going on in this big huge world of philosophy, science, and practice.
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