Mic the Whispers

Hi MTW! I hope everyone found some rest and enjoyment during the extended weekend.  I was reminded that holidays and family time can be restorative for some, but painful and stressful for others, especially those with social identities that are not accepted or understood by those closest to them.  More on that later. American citizens are tasked with the analysis of news media to determine the level of truthfulness. Educated citizens must be able to separate personal beliefs from facts in order for those beliefs to form and transform. Here is the controversy summarized with four pieces that should be required reading. 1. This weekend, the NYT published a profile of a white nationalist that has received some intense criticism from its readership. Please read: "A Voice of Hate in America's Heartland" by Richard Fausset 2. NYT's national editor responds to the backlash that followed in this piece: "Readers Accuse Us of Normalizing A Nazi Sympathizer...

James was working on his math homework when he heard the familiar “ding” of his phone. He picked up his phone and looked at the notification. His phone screen read, “Hey, baby! Just thought of you xoxo  -Brianna”. James sighed and tossed his phone to the side. He thought about how uncomfortable texts from his girlfriend made him. He didn’t know why her feelings made him squirm. It wasn’t normal to feel this way about someone you loved, was it? James didn’t know why he felt the way he did. Although this was the first relationship James had been in, he discovered something important about himself. He was aromantic. Unlike asexuality, aromanticism has not gained much public attention. It seems to be an obscure romantic orientation that seems to hide in the shadows. Someone who is aromantic does not experience romantic attraction to others. Romance is a feeling of attachment, or love for someone. However, aromantic people can still experience and enjoy platonic relationship...

In the last two years I've been involved with a regional conflict regarding Native American representation in Pioneer Valley. This has been my social justice initiative outside of my work as a teacher. Many of you may have come across biased articles in the local newspapers attempting to swing this matter in an inaccurate direction. I am stating here that this is not a matter of property rights, or "green energy," but a matter of civil rights. What is pasted below is a public record already in circulation. I invite your comments. Facts About Destruction of Sacred Lands in Shutesbury, MA Lake Street "Development" and Cinda Jones Ignore Science and Decency in Rape of Burial and Sacred Site Using a pay-for-service report from a development service company based in the distant Southwest, a pair of Midwest extraction capitalists have come to the East to tear down a forest in the name of "green energy."  The sham report of the hired surveyors, SW...

Hi MTW! I've been a big fan of Ta-Nehisi Coats ever since I read his book "Between the World and Me" a couple of years ago.  He is an expert on cultural and social impacts, especially race relations.  He is an extremely compelling author and speaker.  His new book is called "We Were Eight Years In Power" which is a collection of essays that he published during Obama's two terms as President. On his book tour, a white audience member asked him about how to approach "the n-word," specifically in hip-hop lyrics.  The video below is his brilliant response. --C

Hi MTW! There have been a lot of stories recently about transgender athletes overcoming biases in their sport or challenging inequitable governing policies just to participate.  At the youth level, many high schools are looking closely at the language of their policies but guidelines can vary greatly from school to school and state to state.  Title IX turned 45 this year. --C ILLUSTRATION BY SAM MANCHESTER / THE NEW YORK TIMES How Should High Schools Define Sexes for Transgender Athletes? The question is relatively new, and guidelines so far differ from state to state. “It has been a challenge” one Texas official said. By MALIKA ANDREWS

Hi MTW! Heard this on NPR the other day and it hit home, given my relationship with Nicaragua.   --C Trump Administration Announces The End To Protected Status For Nicaraguans The Trump administration has told thousands of Nicaraguans who are living in the U.S. with temporary visas that it's time to go home. Many have been here for at least two decades. They got special status after a hurricane. That special status is called TPS or temporary protective status. Hundreds of thousands of people, mostly from Central America and the Caribbean, live in the U.S. under TPS. And now all of them face an uncertain future. https://www.npr.org/2017/11/ 07/562619788/trump- administration-announces-the- end-to-protected-status-for- nicaraguans

Hi MTW! This is a fantastic personal essay about a black woman's struggle for success and belonging.  Hadiya is Canadian and a fellow ultimate player.  I can't resist sharing this one! --C Hadiya Roderique is a lawyer who left private practice five years ago. She is now working on her PhD at the University of Toronto. Looking back at her Bay Street career, she says she misses some things about the legal world, but ‘I don’t miss the isolation and the nagging sense that other people didn’t feel I belonged.’ Photography by Luis Mora Black on Bay Street: Hadiya Roderique had it all. But still could not fit in My parents moved to Canada to offer me the promise of the North American dream. But on my way to becoming a lawyer, I learned that success isn't necessarily about merit. It's also about fitting in. As a person of colour, that's a roadblock that comes up again and again. " Later, a fellow law student, a white woman, asked me if I ...

Hi MTW Readers! In all of my classes I curate Google Classroom spaces as a way to pose questions, post assignments, and point out details of our main texts and our world.  I will regularly share articles from my own reading that I feel are relevant to my students in our joint quest to become more educated citizens.  In my Google Classroom spaces I will use the tag "What I'm Reading Right Now." I'll take a snippet from the article to copy and paste as a preview, and attach a link to the article on the post. I really enjoy when students notice the pieces that I post and I've had some of the best, and most fruitful conversations about What I'm Reading Right Now even though the content is usually outside of the specific demands of the curriculum. A lot of What I'm Reading Right Now (WIRRN) is centered around social justice topics, with the occasional ultimate frisbee article, just for flavor.  I'm excited to share WIRRN with MTW! --C Enlarg...