We Need More Space for Pedagogy in Our Movements

2021-03-26 by nerd teacher

Union trainings, for whatever reason, are spectacularly dull. I can’t be the only person who no longer wants to attend workshops, seminars, or trainings where people just rattle off a lecture to participants and tell them what to do and how to do it. I’m tired of being part of anything where group discussions aren’t seen as important, participant experiences are overlooked, and the people “leading” the events completely dismiss or invalidate the needs of the participants.

I wish I could say that the pandemic has been the biggest problem, but every single union training I’ve participated in has looked the same. There’s a PowerPoint lecture broadcasting all the information of the union, resources aren’t provided ahead of time (despite requests), and it’s very rare to hear more than one voice for the entire duration. Group conversations are seen as an afterthought, and very few of the activities are even planned ahead of time. The only difference the pandemic has made is that all of that has been moved online, making an already ineffective method of teaching worse.

Accessibility requirements of the participants go neglected. Even if you make requests ahead of time or ask for accommodations when you register, they still go ignored because it’s “just not possible.” Disabled people are still far more responsible for our own inclusion in these programs, being forced to explain to the organisers why their methods aren’t working for us. When we try to point this out (in the politest of ways), the organisers are generally hostile to us. Read more…

Are Children Really 'Starved' for School?

2020-09-12 by nerd teacher

I cannot count the amount of times I’ve heard from parents or other teachers, in speeches by politicians, or on some news media regardless of whether it’s more ‘independent’ or more ‘mainstream’ that children are starved for school. It feels like almost everyone is in agreement with this idea and that it’s something that’s completely true just by the nature of it having been said a number of times.

But my observations of and conversations with students have led me to an entirely different conclusion: They’re starved for society, they’re starved for access to people (adults and other children alike), and they’re hungry for more collaborative learning opportunities.

And most of these do not require a school. Read more…

Thinking About the Role of an Anarchist Educator in Our Educational Systems

2020-08-26 by nerd teacher

Most school years seem to start with the same question: What is the purpose of education? For many anarchists, we recognise that education is really important in developing the core of how social values are shared throughout our societies. Those of us working in currently existing education systems often find ourselves frustrated by a range of issues, namely the overly restrictive rules that are enforced on all people within the school ‘ecosystem’, the conflation of education with schooling, the hyper-focus on choosing the ‘correct’ educational path in order to achieve a career, and the lack of community inclusion in the development of any educational programs.

Sitting through a number of meetings taking place throughout the school year, it’s hard to figure out exactly how to function within current education systems and whether or not it’s even beneficial. There are a lot of questions that run through my mind when I’m participating in these meetings:

Why isn’t the school run in such a way that more voices are heard? These meetings are often run by someone who holds a title like ‘coordinator’, ‘principal’, ‘school manager’, or ‘educational director’; many of these people give presentations that tell teachers what they will do, even though they will never be responsible for implementing those programs or policies. It’s unclear to me what their purpose is when they refuse to collaborate and only wish to dictate, especially when they seem to hide in their offices away from everyone else. Read more…

Rethinking My Place in Schools: A Teacher with Disabilities

2020-08-20 by nerd teacher

This school year marks yet another where I start at a new school. It’s the sixth school I’ve worked at in ten years, and that… feels heavy. It feels like I’ve worked in too many places and haven’t been able to actually find a place to stay put, to be part of the community. And when I finally find a place in the community, I feel like I have to leave for some reason that’s usually related to the school’s administration: obvious mental abuse that they force the staff to endure, genuine corruption, and wilful ineptitude.

Perhaps it’s also worth mentioning that I’m a teacher who is “special needs” (a term that I loathe with every fiber of my being). I have ADHD. I’m dyslexic. I have an audio-processing disorder. I also deal with depression and anxiety. Accommodations for a range of disabilities are almost never met for any students in the building, and they’re definitely not there for teachers who require them.

So unlike neurotypical (and able-bodied) teachers, these are concerns that I often put front-and-center. What are we doing to ensure all students’ needs are met? What are we doing to improve access for all students (especially those often overlooked in the school)? Read more…

Stop Debating, Start Discussing; or Why Debates Don’t Work and What To Do About It

2020-08-19 by nerd teacher

From the perspective of a super-online person and a teacher who engages with super-online kids, it seems like everyone has run into what are called the ‘Debate Me’ Bros, a hyper-common phenomenon that seems intent to take over 'left' movements. They’re usually white men who invite people on their Twitch streams to ‘debate’ them, and it seems like the goal is to ‘own’ the guest until they've finally been badgered into admitting they’re wrong and decide to completely change their previously held position because the host has so thoroughly explained to them why their beliefs are harmful.

Or so that’s what a lot of proponents of this tactic tell us, even though that isn’t actually what happens.

What’s really occurring is that the person “inviting” the other person onto their stream has already made their initial point before the debate has even begun. Through a series of tweets or otherwise public messages, they've already made their message clear: “I’m right, you’re wrong, and I refuse to acknowledge your ideas as correct or even useful until you test them against my obviously superior intelligence.” Since these invitations usually start as an aggressive response to something considered “wrong,” the atmosphere in which these so-called ‘debates’ take place is generally pretty negative and hostile to any form of growth. Read more…