Tired of waiting

The past week or so I've been increasingly impatient with the lack of real change in education or urban contexts more generally. I'm sure I sound like a broken record but I don't understand how people can see others suffering in poverty and do nothing. I don't understand how we can stand by and watch our schools damage children and youth. It seems like the more work I do, the more things stay the same. I know on some level that the work I do in teacher education has a kind of impact. The students I work with are amazing, dedicated, passionate, and committed to changing inequities and not reproducing injustice. These days the mountain just seems too big.

I see change happening everywhere else or at least people seem to be trying more. Obama is fighting the fight and so far he seems to be keeping his integrity. Everyday Iranians are in the streets risking all to know the truth of the election. The use of Twitter and Facebook has been amazing. Geoffrey Canada is transforming Harlem one block at a time. Yet none of these people seems to understand education and what needs changing. We'll end up in the same places we are now trying to change if we don't work on schools.

Does it really take one charismatic leader or millions of people in the streets to achieve justice? Godin, Shirky and others seem to think it doesn't. Anyone can lead and everyone is here to work together. I get the argument but I'm not seeing it happen. People say a lot of things, but when the rubber hits the road, they go about their business and look away. I'm tired of it.

I just can't seem to let it go though. Poverty, poor and unequal education, injustice and hate just cannot be allowed! I don't know why people aren't more pissed off. I know I am. So...once again I'm retrying a website designed to be a space where "everybody comes" to be the change we've been waiting for. Google sites lets groups collaborate on whatever they want to so join me. We simply must do something!!!

Overhearing my class

I thought I'd try something different while my students are talking about readings in small groups. I usually don't sit in on groups because I found that they tended to stop talking and focus on me as they discussed. By not going, it gives them the space to talk about whatever they want. 

So tonight, right now, I am sitting at the computer in the main classroom as one group is discussing the reading. I'm listening in - overhearing - on the conversation. I'm sure they know I'm listening but I'm not "in" the group so they are just going at it. 

We read the last chapters of Gee's 2004  book, Carole Lee's Is October Brown Chinese article, and Lewis and Fabos's article on IMing practices of youth. The readings are very rich and challenge traditional conceptions of literacy for most students, so I love to see how people's minds change. I worry a bit that some students tend to move very quickly to "how do we do this" questions rather than see the mindset shift that is necessary in contemporary times. They get there though, somehow. 

Why do we focus so much on how to take what kids are doing in everyday life and co-opt it for schools as they are now (e.g. for the 1950's)? I worry a lot about colonizing children and youth practices for school purposes. Schools need to change pretty radically on epistemological grounds in order for relevancy to return, but taking practices from outside into the same old thing won't get there.