I am not a US resident and so I can only imagine the level of insecurity, and anxiety coming at you in a myriad of directions right now. I am here as an emotional support Canadian if you are in need of one.
It's tough out here, buddy. I mean, I am a progressive board member in Central Michigan, so it's never exactly been easy. But we're in the middle of trying to figure out what to do for migrant families while also trying to figure out what to do for queer kids while also defending our commitment to building a community of belonging while also enduring budget whiplash. Obviously, chaos is part of the Trump Administration MO. I don't want to say that it's working, because fuck that, but it's been a wild ride. Oh, and... I serve in the poorest county in my state, at least 10% of our students are indigenous, we rely heavily on tribal grants, the tribe relies heavily on federal funding... It's a lot.
That's so, so much. I hope you've got others by your side, and I hope you know with how thankless and Sisyphean it all is, it matters that you and everybody else who loves the hell of all kids in your community are showing up, both in the regular-hard times and the nuclear-level-hard times.
Thanks, man. I started during COVID lockdown and I've been through DEI battles already. We have a strong, committed community of people who show up, and that's what keeps the work from feeling thankless. If there's a silver lining in any of this, the obviousness of THIS IS NOT OK makes it easier to rally folks.
Appreciate this more than I can say. I find myself *very* intimately involved with the goings-on at my kids' public school in New York City this year and I'm so grateful to be able to chart a path forward buoyed with Garrett's thoughtful guidance.
Doesn’t it make everything so much less abstract? Stepping more and more into caring for a place and all the people who share it, learning about who is helping and what forces (micro and macro) make all your ability to get through harder….
Definitely want to share this with my people. I’ll put it in my Sunday 5, but will also circulate to parents at our new school. And maybe more? Love you Bucks. Thanks for helping me channel my energy.
As a parent and educator, I love the angle you’ve taken here and think this approach would be very effective in terms of starting a collaborative conversation. Happy to be a part of any larger project to further support school communities as well.
Oh so glad it resonated on both those fronts (parent and educator). It’s really cool to see multiple folks in the comments saying “it’d be cool to brainstorm what comes next here.” I’m temporarily stopping just a little short from immediately jumping into a ‘what’s next’ (meaning, for a week or so) as I try to calibrate “ok where do things stand after the dust of the first frenzied weeks settle and what should we build” but stay tuned!
Such a balm to the soul reading that letter in divisive harmful time Garrett. Always down to collaborate with you on how to support parents, educators, and school communities in weaving cultures of radical care and love. Let me know how I can show up in support or if you ever want to brainstorm what that might look like
Related piece of "WTF" news: I learned from a client today (ASL interpreter company) that the deaf community is also getting hit with with the DEI attacks in education (some folks use the acronym DEIA to include accessibility)... white house has fired the interpreters and pulled all the interpreted media from their websites. Most ASL interpretation in the schools is federally funded...
I'm fuzzy on when it happened, but maybe in December? There was a whole twitter blow up over interpreters "being too distracting" and "making faces"... and so ASL is being politicized now. It's a language! That involves lots of full body gestures and facial expressions!
I am not a US resident and so I can only imagine the level of insecurity, and anxiety coming at you in a myriad of directions right now. I am here as an emotional support Canadian if you are in need of one.
Love a good emotional support Canadian!
As the parent of a trans teen, as a community organizer, and as a school board member, I thank you for this.
Thank YOU for everything you're doing right now. How are you holding up?
It's tough out here, buddy. I mean, I am a progressive board member in Central Michigan, so it's never exactly been easy. But we're in the middle of trying to figure out what to do for migrant families while also trying to figure out what to do for queer kids while also defending our commitment to building a community of belonging while also enduring budget whiplash. Obviously, chaos is part of the Trump Administration MO. I don't want to say that it's working, because fuck that, but it's been a wild ride. Oh, and... I serve in the poorest county in my state, at least 10% of our students are indigenous, we rely heavily on tribal grants, the tribe relies heavily on federal funding... It's a lot.
That's so, so much. I hope you've got others by your side, and I hope you know with how thankless and Sisyphean it all is, it matters that you and everybody else who loves the hell of all kids in your community are showing up, both in the regular-hard times and the nuclear-level-hard times.
Thanks, man. I started during COVID lockdown and I've been through DEI battles already. We have a strong, committed community of people who show up, and that's what keeps the work from feeling thankless. If there's a silver lining in any of this, the obviousness of THIS IS NOT OK makes it easier to rally folks.
Appreciate this more than I can say. I find myself *very* intimately involved with the goings-on at my kids' public school in New York City this year and I'm so grateful to be able to chart a path forward buoyed with Garrett's thoughtful guidance.
Doesn’t it make everything so much less abstract? Stepping more and more into caring for a place and all the people who share it, learning about who is helping and what forces (micro and macro) make all your ability to get through harder….
yes indeed. extremely concrete lessons being served daily.
Definitely want to share this with my people. I’ll put it in my Sunday 5, but will also circulate to parents at our new school. And maybe more? Love you Bucks. Thanks for helping me channel my energy.
Love you too, Court
As a parent and educator, I love the angle you’ve taken here and think this approach would be very effective in terms of starting a collaborative conversation. Happy to be a part of any larger project to further support school communities as well.
Oh so glad it resonated on both those fronts (parent and educator). It’s really cool to see multiple folks in the comments saying “it’d be cool to brainstorm what comes next here.” I’m temporarily stopping just a little short from immediately jumping into a ‘what’s next’ (meaning, for a week or so) as I try to calibrate “ok where do things stand after the dust of the first frenzied weeks settle and what should we build” but stay tuned!
I completely get that! No sense tilting at every wacky windmill during this transition time. But I’m absolutely here for whatever comes next.
Such a balm to the soul reading that letter in divisive harmful time Garrett. Always down to collaborate with you on how to support parents, educators, and school communities in weaving cultures of radical care and love. Let me know how I can show up in support or if you ever want to brainstorm what that might look like
Ooh thanks Sara (and a good reminder that I owe you like four emails)
Related piece of "WTF" news: I learned from a client today (ASL interpreter company) that the deaf community is also getting hit with with the DEI attacks in education (some folks use the acronym DEIA to include accessibility)... white house has fired the interpreters and pulled all the interpreted media from their websites. Most ASL interpretation in the schools is federally funded...
Oh yikes. I had heard this might be a growing edge of the anti-DEI movement. Ugh, ugh, ugh.
I'm fuzzy on when it happened, but maybe in December? There was a whole twitter blow up over interpreters "being too distracting" and "making faces"... and so ASL is being politicized now. It's a language! That involves lots of full body gestures and facial expressions!
Thank you, Garrett. ❤️
❤️