Mic the Whispers

Hi MTW! Yesterday Wyatt Walker's obituary came across my news feed and I was jolted a bit because of a chapter that I teach out of Malcolm Gladwell's book "David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants."  The chapter is titled "Wyatt Walker" and it tells the story of some of the critical moves made during the Civil Rights Movement.  Wyatt Walker was the architect behind some of the peaceful protests in Birmingham, AL that led to a national perception shift of the treatment of blacks in the South. Read Walker's obituary here: https://mobile.nytimes.com/2018/01/23/obituaries/wyatt-tee-walker-dead.html?referer=http://m.facebook.com "Dr. Walker joined the fledgling Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1961 and served until 1964 as its executive director and, unofficially, as Dr. King’s right-hand man. At the S.C.L.C., he devised a structured fund-raising strategy and organized numerous protests, including a serie...

Hi MTW! As a teacher and a coach, I am always trying to get my students and players to access their entire human experience and apply it to the skills required for our sport or class.  In teaching 9th graders, I have a lot of fun reading different kinds of narratives throughout the semester and imploring my students to follow their own path for a goal for which they would be a "stone through water."  As a coach, my players must have a mindfulness of their bodies and their process in order to perform at their peak.  The hidden message behind all of these lessons is that the tasks we perform day-to-day in any context, be it the classroom or the playing field, should require our entire concentration in the moments that we are processing them.  Jaylen Brown: ‘We’re having some of the same problems we had 50 years ago. Some things have changed a lot but other factors are deeply embedded in our society.’ Photograph: Brian Babineau/NBAE/Getty Images Jaylen Brown of t...

NAACP to protest Trump in Atlanta: report BY  REBECCA SAVRANSKY  -  01/08/18 07:35 AM EST  100 2,358 © Getty Images The NAACP is planning to protest  President Trump 's visit to Atlanta Monday evening,  The Associated Press reported . The NAACP is encouraging people to protest the president's visit to attend the college football national championship game by carrying anti-Trump signs and wearing white — an effort to mock the "snowflake" term used by some Trump supporters, according to the news service. Refuse Fascism ATL, another group, is also reportedly planning to protest the president's visit by taking "a knee against Trump" outside of CNN's world headquarters ahead of the kickoff. The group is looking to show their solidarity with the NFL players who have knelt during the national anthem throughout the season to protest social justice issues, such as police brutality. Trump is  expect...

Mateo Rull 12th grade Social Justice Magazine Club Frontier Regional School 9/28/2017 A Humble Play Narrator: Tuesday morning. The rain outside muffles the sound of the two students speaking on the incandescent black box. You could turn the volume up more, but it would not improve the acuity of perception for the drowsy students; some of them are out of their assigned seats; all of them overstate how tired they are. Miss Tina: Alright everyone news is over, get to your seats please! Maria: Ms. Tina when was the assignment on Imperialism due? Miss Tina: I’m really glad you asked Maria… Listen everyone! The assignment is due today but don’t worry, I will give you time in class as we are gonna review that chapter today. Hold tight to your seats while I turn the projector on please! Tina: Okay people, today we will be discussing the impact of the Imperialist movement in the United States… Who can tell me what Imperialism means? … * Patrick raises hand* Miss Tina: Yes...

Mateo Rull 12th grade Social Justice Magazine Club Frontier Regional School 9/28/2017 “ I am white. That’s all you know about me. Am I privileged based on that alone? And assuming I am, should I feel guilt? And what should I do about it?" Stand up comedian Omar Ismail answers this long and ambiguous question in the most graceful way: comparing white privilege to height, liberating himself from the controversy (which is bound to happen regardless) of racial debate; debate that in fact should not exist at all. A debate that originated from sheer ignorance in times past and that somehow we haven’t managed as a species to overcome. “Consider it this way, All I know about you is that you’re tall. Does that mean you don’t deserve the can of tuna on the higher shelf? Should you feel guilty about getting the tuna from the top shelf? Does that mean short people can’t get the tuna? Does that mean there aren’t any disadvantages of being tall?” No, No, No and No. What tru...

Mateo Rull 12th grade Social Justice Magazine Club Frontier Regional School 10/19/2017 Why are you so gay? “The interesting thing about this question too, is the opposing motivations as to why do people ask this question.  Some people ask this question as a way to shame me, and to shame the (gay) identity . . . but then also, people very close to me . . . ask from a place of love and concern, ‘why are you so visible?’ ‘Why would you subject yourself to potential discrimination when you don’t have to?’ And therefore, answering this question involves addressing both of these sides of concern . . . (To me) it comes down to 3 things: One, is my obligation to history; two are the realities of my own identity; and lastly, our obligations for those yet to come” (Lloyd 2014) As on any other Monday morning at Frontier, the stream of classes flowed smoothly, undisturbed, unconcerned; occasionally a few shabby rocks would get dragged along, causing a slight agitation that wa...

Hi MTW! A big Thank You goes out to Ms. Blair and the KindVersity Club for this project: Happy December! In today's morning news, KindVersity Club announced that today kicks off a month-long campaign to spread kindness throughout the Frontier community and beyond.  To that end, members of the KV club are sharing Kindness Calendars with all faculty, staff and students. Look for one, and please feel free to share this calendar far and wide :) I've attached an image of this calendar below.  Stay tuned for more info and updates on this project - and please, join in!