We Need More Honest Reflections About How We Organise

There has been a world full of problems that has created a number of people who, new to organising, have wanted to find ways to make a difference. This is fantastic, but it’s also so incredibly daunting. A lot of people want to know what it is that they can do, where they can start, how they can do something (especially when they already have little material resources to give). They’re seeking concrete answers that will demonstrably and provably work, which many of us are uncomfortable providing (particularly if we're aligned with many anarchic and anti-State values).

Unfortunately, it’s also created a world full of grifters, but I’m going to pay them little attention this time around. This isn’t about them; this isn’t for them. They can find attention elsewhere as they continue pretending they provide anything of value. I’m going to continue ignoring their outrage farming as much as I can. Read more…

Sometimes “How Can I Fix It?” Is the Wrong Question

Too many educators see themselves as heroes, as saviours, as masters, and as necessary to the continuation of society. Many see themselves as the people who can save the world one child at a time, especially if the teachers are from a dominant demographic and the child is from a marginalised background.

This same logic is what enabled schools to become harmful spaces, to embody obscured versions of racism, ethnocentrism, ableism, and queermisia within their curriculum and policies. It’s what gave way to schools being tools of literal genocides, such as the residential schools for Indigenous peoples across the globe. It’s what allows for European countries to take oaths and sign declarations “to not discriminate against anyone” while simultaneously propping up segregated schools and classes for Roma and Sinti children. It’s what gives countries the ability to outright deny Rohingya refugee children access to schools in places like Bangladesh, treating them as if they aren’t worth the resources. It’s what provides countries like Australia and the United States to keep refugees in so-called “detainment” facilities, denying them access to almost everything. Read more…

The Eugenics Movement Never Ended

Note: I want to make it clear that not all people with neurodevelopmental disorders see themselves as being disabled (though, I would argue that we are made disabled by society, which is explained through a social model of disability). I state this because the conversation around disability is super complex, even within the community. So while I do see myself as disabled, I do not speak for others with neurodevelopmental disorders in how they see themselves.

Far too many people have bought into the illusion that eugenics went away after World War II and that we gave it all up. We didn’t. A lot of people, ashamed to be peddling outright eugenics, hid it behind kinder words, nicer sounding policies, and politer manners.

But they still kept doing it.

Yet, since people see “all the work” that has gone in to get things like legislation that “protects” disabled people and “gives them rights,” “providing them with opportunities they never before had,” they mistakenly believe we’ve progressed a significant amount. People see groups that seek to “cure” neurodevelopmental disorders, like autism and ADHD, as being helpful because they can speak the loudest and have the most resources.

Yet they don’t want to listen to us.  Read more…

I Hate Titles: Why the Label of ‘Teacher’ Doesn’t Quite Fit

The words “teacher” and “educator” bother me. The imagery that they both conjure – of a person providing knowledge in order for a bunch of people to receive it – has often frustrated me because it runs entirely counter to how I view education and learning. They are words that, honestly, fail to highlight the inherent collaboration involved in people truly learning and the ways in which we actually should be engaging with each other.

They are labels that are still imbued with hierarchy, control, and power. They are labels that still, for many people, denote authority over them and the ability to make arbitrary decisions over both their present and future. They are labels that can instill fear and anxiety in others, especially those who have felt abused or neglected by the system for simply existing.

Honestly, they are terms that feel completely separate from how I view both my role in and the purpose of educational and learning spaces. Read more…

Academia Can Never 'Lead the Charge' for Change

The status quo around grading is in part a response to the perceived demands of college, so it is fitting that colleges should lead the way forward. -Barry J. Fishman

A common refrain as I read about reforms to education (and even the wider goal of changing society) is that universities will lead the way. Academics put together outlines about how the university is central to everything and, as a result of its existence, has necessitated everything that exists to change "for the better." Through their supposed wealth of research and knowledge, they will be the ones to shine the light on what needs to change, what can be changed, and how to change it. So many academics proclaim this without a hint of irony, and they do so with more zeal than I’ve ever seen out of the most saviour-y of primary and secondary teachers (some of whom also think like this, though it’s often more specific to their own teaching practice).

But academia, much like systems of compulsory schools, will not “lead the charge.” They can’t because, in order for society to be healthier, those institutions must cease to exist. Read more…