I want to address something that Michael Libby brought up in his post, and that is the affects of racism, classism, sexism, and poverty in the Public Schools. (Well, he only listed racism and poverty...I extended the list).
I absolutely believe that the reasons that many students fail to achieve are directly linked to oppression. Students of color, poor students, queer students, students with disabilities and women live in a world that automatically makes assumptions about their ability and their worth. There are too few conversations in the education system about how to work progressive anti-oppression curriculum into the schools. Being an anti-racist individual, being an ally to women, and learning to recognize the effects of oppression are learned behaviors. As a board of education member I would absolutely support and push for anti-oppression and ally training for teams of staff from each school building who would then be charged with holding similar trainings for the remaining staff in their buildings. I would seek to build partnerships with the People's Institute for Survival and Beyond (called the People's Institute North here in Minneapolis) to provide training to key staff. My support of anti-oppression work in the schools is why I pushed to have the Board of Education pass regular funding for the Out4Good program in 1995, and that program has now grown to encompass every high school. It is folly to believe that students do not bring with them to school the world in which they live outside of the schools. My basic tenet is and has been that even the youngest child will be able to articulate in some way what is stopping her from learning and what is helping her learn. I believe that each student has potential and that it is the job of the schools to find that potential. The new district plan in which each high school student will be placed in learning groups and each student will map out a four year learning plan for herself is a great step in focusing on the individual. I understand completely that I, myself, was an anomaly in the Minneapolis Public Schools. I was a working poor, student of color. And I was absolutely lucky that I had an extremely supportive mother and found overwhelming support from staff in the Public Schools. Without that support I may not have made it through the education system. I also witnessed students tracked in the SPAN program that were yelled at, physically intimidated by and absolutely disrespected by their "teachers." I watched students who were little more than prisoners in their classrooms and found themselves facing the racism, sexism, and low-expectations that they encountered outside of the classroom being propagated by their instructors inside of the classroom. Public Schools were founded as a way to train young people to be productive workers after graduation, not to challenge them intellectually. I believe that schools are a place for experimentation. Where students need to learn the basics of education (reading, writing, arithmetic), but they also must have the opportunity to begin exploring the various paths their lives may take. That is why I also will support arts education, music education, and experiential learning opportunities. The innovative program that existed at Longfellow School (now Ramsey) was the type of education that I would like to happen across the district. Michael Libby is right. A single person from the board of education is not going to be able to effect huge system change. But then again, I am a community organizer. I know the power of numbers, and I know the ability of students. And the students of Minneapolis, in me, will have a passionate and powerful voice that won't speak for them, but sure as hell speak with them every change I get. -Brandon Lacy Campos Powderhorn Park 9-4 [EMAIL PROTECTED] -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] On Behalf Of michael libby Sent: Wednesday, March 06, 2002 9:27 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: [Mpls] Brandon Lacy Campos For Minneapolis Public Schools and Caucus Night -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 On Wednesday 06 March 2002 03:00 pm, Thomas Swift wrote: > I feel that this attitude directly bears on the tone > and direction his proposed guidance of MPS would take; > I think he has made the substance (or lack thereof > IMO) of his proposed tenure clear. I don't think Mr. Campos' email to the list contained any statements about the WTC/Pentagon bombings. Therefore I'm not sure that his views on the bombings or the US response to same are relevant to a discussion of his qualifications or goals with respect to the Minneapolis schools. His email contains sufficient evidence of his "special interests" on its own. So why don't we stick to that? > You needn't take my word for this, check the MPLS > forum archives. How about some specific links or quotes? > A check of the groups listed in Brandon's curriculum > vitea gives one the impression that his overriding > "educational" concern has been including more special > interest propaganda into the schools curriculum. It sounds to me like he's trying to prevent gay kids from being teased, tortured, depressed, suicidal, misunderstood, abused, cast out, and excluded from the educational process. It also sounds to me like he wanted to make sure that classes like history weren't just the study of rich white guys. A good move, in my opinion. But the problem with our schools is not the subject matter. No matter how much we argue about who learns what about whom it won't ever make a difference when our schools are little better than prisons for young people, walled off from productive society into age and class segregated rooms with arbitrary teacher groups who have seemingly absolute control over their days but are not held accountable in any real way when the children do not learn. > Personally, I find the effect that the invasion of > special interest politics and "progressive" idealogy > has had on the schools disgusting and academically > devistating. I believe that these groups only interest > in kids are as fodder for the advancement of thier > social agendas; results to the kids be damned. But you > may disagree. My experiences riding the 5 through North Minneapolis and listening to some of our city's children on their way to school convinces me that the schools have no hope in the face of poverty and racism and the culture of violence surrounding many of Minneapolis' "at-risk" kids. To push the blame onto the schools (no matter who is in charge and what their policies are) seems bizarre to me. > Finally, you are correct in that I cannot vote for or > against MPS board members; but the outcome will effect > my kids, my wife and I in that we will be charged with > the support, retraining, counseling, rehabilitation > and in some cases, life time incarceration, of the > hundreds (thousands?) of kids that MPS fails to > educate. They will effect society well across city > boundries I assure you. I seriously doubt Mr. Campos' minor influence (if elected) on our schools will have any lasting effects on larger trends unless he does something truly unexpected and amazing. (No disrespect to Mr. Campos intended, even Mother Theresa would have had trouble affecting the larger society from just a seat on the school board). My biggest problem is that he's DFL. Now if he were Green or Libertarian, then I might be able to get behind his candidacy. > As I said, if you like what you see in MPS and want > more of the same, Brandon is your guy. How will I know if I've found a viable alternative? Not that anyone else has announced their candidacy to this list, but simply not voting for Campos isn't enough. We must have someone else to vote *for*, got any suggestions? In the absence of specific candidates, are there some positions that candidates should hold that in your opinion will make our society better? Got any special insights into what surrounding schools are doing differently that makes them so successful? I went to a small, private high school in St. Paul rather than attend Southwest in Minneapolis myself. Seems to me that the school I went to was a lot more "progressive" and liberal than MPS will ever be, but they had and still have 100% graduation and usually 100% of the students went on to college-- this in spite of some obvious pandering to special interests in the curriculum. - -Michael Libby, Cleveland/North Minneapolis. ______Michael_C_Libby__{_x_(at)_ichimunki_(dot)_com_}______ | "even monkeys fall from trees" : "saru mo ki kara ochiru" | |____ public key at http://www.ichimunki.com/public.key ____| -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.0.6 (GNU/Linux) Comment: For info see http://www.gnupg.org iD8DBQE8ht4Q4ClW9KMwqnMRAoZnAJ4hmA+BIgM9Zkp7MVU7zc3FOfSW2gCgm3d5 Wt8cXJjjtI39CBnLWXI6Y2Q= =g4D9 -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
