The Eugenics Movement Never Ended

2021-07-26 by nerd teacher

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, especially within and between people who share a given disorder. 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

2021-07-17 by nerd teacher

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

2021-06-30 by nerd teacher

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…

Tales from the Schoolhouse, Part 1: “It’s the Jeans but Not the Jeans.”

2021-05-23 by nerd teacher

A lot of people often ask me how I arrived at the position of ‘school abolition’ while still being a teacher, and I often point directly at the institutions that have employed me. The abuses that I have suffered as a teacher, combined with those I already experienced as a student, have led me to question the purpose of schools and to research their histories. As a queer and disabled anarchist, my experiences and research have constantly shown me that school isn’t the answer.

But I don’t often write about those experiences because they’re frustrating to think about. Yet, every time I have to interview for a new school and am asked to explain what I found most difficult about my previous positions, these memories are dredged back up. Of course, the people interviewing me never get the full answer (because the chances I’d get a job if I explained all of the things I hated would be close to nil).  Read more…

As Best We Can: Critiquing Information and Research from Institutions

2021-04-12 by nerd teacher

Sometimes it’s worth remembering that two things can be simultaneously true: (1) Institutions are capable of causing an incredible amount of harm, and (2) they are also spaces that provide a great deal of useful information about events and situations. This is particularly true for institutions within the imperial core, but it is also very true for institutions that were established outside of it.

After all, it’s worth remembering that many of those institutions were also established by colonising forces or suffered from imperial interference. Many of those same institutions still endure this, with some universities and NGOs receiving research grants and funding from North American philanthro-capitalists and aid organisations who implement specific conditions to receive it.

Yet, it’s worth remembering that this is where we need to apply a ‘critical lens’ or understand ‘creative reading’ of information we receive from all of them. There are questions that we should be asking of anything we read, rather than just taking for granted that it’s “correct” or “wrong” simply because of where it originates. Reports can contain multitudes: truths, exaggerations, misunderstandings, misleading conclusions, obscured facts, and falsehoods.

It's up to us to analyse the information they generate to the best of our ability. Read more…