We need a Brave (New) World:
What resonates with me most about this post is when speak about the world being weak:
“It is this world that we live in that can be weak. This world that is too afraid to embrace change. This world that is too afraid to stand up and speak up for those who are not able to. This world that would rather talk about apps and computers and Twitter than use those things to talk about how to make our schools safer for all of the people inside of them.”
I find this infinitely true. We are afraid and we are weak. We find it easier to put everything into little boxes that fit into what we believe school is or should be.
However, the narrative that I think is most at odds with us making schools safe for all teachers is the one that claims teachers don’t have a life outside of schools. If we admit that teachers don’t only exist between the first bell and the last, we have to accept that they are complex enough to have personal lives. If we stop believing the only purpose teachers have in this world is to grade papers and plan lessons, we would have to think hard about how they are human, and they are us.
As an educator, we are brave when we deny this narrative. As a non-educator, we are brave when we see teachers as complexly as we see ourselves. We all deserve this brave world. We all deserve to see people for who they are, and not merely the roles they play within our small corner of the universe.
Thank you for showing that teachers are people and for sharing your complex and wonderful story with others. There will come a time when the world is brave enough to accept this from everyone, but until that time, I am glad you are thinking and writing out loud.
