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Tomorrow is Juneteenth, the anniversary of the announcement of the end of slavery. It’s not a well known holiday for lots of reasons. One is that we don’t really like to talk about that part of our history. We don’t like to acknowledge the shadow side of our country and culture.
But “If you are serious about American culture and you are serious about Afro-American culture, you are in a lot of pain. You are not – you are not smiling about it.”–Wynton Marsalis
I was raised with prejudice; my mother justified slavery and the Confederacy without shame. I don’t think any one thing changed me, but a combination of events in my teens and early twenties. The book and movie, To Kill a Mockingbird made a huge impression on this little white girl.
2018 holds 50th anniversaries of so many seminal events in our racial history–the assassinations of Dr. Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy, the Watts Riots that happened just a short distance from our Los Angeles County home. I graduated from high school in 1968–a watershed year by many definitions. That’s the way we become aware and sensitive to issues of race, culture and class–in bits and pieces.
Humility and openness are first steps to confronting shut minds and fearful attitudes that are often part of being White. We White people never ever have to face many many challenges; that’s the definition of White privilege.
Those circumstances are no secret these days, but it’s still possible to be blind to them. I continue to learn and grow in awareness; my latest effort involves joining a book club of Black women and White women to discuss how we can come to a better understanding.
Reading books like Root and Branch, Waking Up White and One Crazy Summer is providing a wealth of 
insight about the long fight for justice and the continuing injustices Black people face.
The point of Juneteenth is to bring attention to our history of slavery and to begin to right some of the wrongs committed over the last 400 years. Join in the celebration!
Glitter is not my favorite. I try to keep it out of our home, but it’s getting more difficult. Not only do my kids bring it home on art projects, but I didn’t realize how glittery it would be to have a daughter! Glitter on shoes, shirts, pants, backpacks, notebooks, and toys. Glitter that finds its way into every corner of every room of our house. I can count on glitter in the dustpan when I sweep the floors.
As much as I complain about glitter, I do appreciate Glitter Jars. They are simple to make – add water and food coloring to an upcycled water bottle. Add glitter and shake. Glitter swirls around in every direction, like a sparkly, colorful snow globe, it’s mesmerizing.
Sometimes my mind feels like that snow globe–thoughts dart in every direction. To-do lists, work requests, full mail boxes, and I do mean plural with voicemails, emails and paper mail. Family commitments on top of it all make me forget why I walked into a room, and wonder what I meant with a calendar entry.
From well-intentioned extra-curricular activities to technology distractions, I know kids feel it too. When I’m teaching, I wonder why I need to repeat directions times or explain concepts yet again. But then I remember that their young minds are distracted just like mine. And they’ve learned fewer tools to cope.
Life doesn’t have to be so jumbled up. Though swirling glitter is fun to watch, it eventually settles. Just so, as I sit mesmerized by the Glitter Jar, my mind focuses and my thoughts slow.
The education team at Next Step is developing a variety of Mindfulness & Movement resources for educators. In the next month we’ll roll out–
Like the Glitter Jar that settles with just a few minutes of stillness, some mindful moments can turn an overwhelming classroom or household into a refuge of calm. Sometimes a small change is all we need to make for a big impact.
“If the first woman God ever made was strong enough to turn the world upside down all alone, these women together ought to be able to turn it back, and get it right side up again! And now they is asking to do it, the men better let them.”–Sojourner Truth, 1851
As I understand it, when Sojourner Truth spoke the words above at the Women’s Convention in Akron Ohio, there was a glimmer of hope that Black women and White women might work together for women’s rights and for the abolition of slavery.
Those hopes were dashed pretty quickly as a “cult of true womanhood” developed. It basically said a woman’s place is not only in the home, but also keeping the gate closed on sex and sexuality–that was the job of White women anyway.
That left sensuality to Black women, according to Paula Giddings, author of When and Where I Enter, the book we’re reading now. As a result the reputation of Black women suffered long after emancipation. It’s still suffering today I think. “Welfare Queen“–really, we are a mess!
At the first meeting of our book club, I asked what we can do to get White women and Black women working together? Billie Wade–“I think we’re doing it now.” Finding our way through uncomfortable conversations, hanging in there through misunderstandings–I think books can help us turn those conversations and misunderstandings into shared experiences. I hope so.
Even when a lightbulb goes on in your head, and you understand some of the things that shaped you, reading this stuff is hard. Talking about it is harder. But we really must summon the courage and humility and compassion to do it.
Sojourner Truth said, “Well, children, where there is so much racket there must be something out of kilter.” There’s a lot of racket right now about poor treatment of women, and certainly there is much that is out of kilter. But this time let’s bring all our sisters, mothers, daughters and grandmothers along as we rise. This time let’s don’t leave anyone behind.
The day after the 2016 election, I met with D Anderson, a young Black man I’ve worked with for a number of years. I hadn’t slept much the night before. Eating dinner at the Drake Diner counter that night, the election results rolled in, and my dreams of a woman president rolled out. The night sky was a stunner as well. However, unlike the election results, the stars gave me a sense that things might be all right.
But it was a breakfast meeting the next day that began the real shift for me. Over pastries and coffee at La Mie, a conversation with D gave me real hope. I said I thought how much worse the election outcome was for him and for other Black people, for immigrants, and for all the less privileged than it was for me. And so it is.
D works with the Backyard Boyz at CFUM, helping kids develop the resilience to face challenges like poverty and prejudice of all kinds. He, Emmett Phillips and the others are amazing role models for the young men they mentor. That morning after the election, D said he’ll continue to work for change in the local community, making a difference where he can.
His hope is rooted in connection to his community and working for change. Listening to his perspective opened my misery to accommodate his more hopeful view, and time has continued to move that view toward optimism. We can’t survive long without hope.
Even so, I’ve become convinced that the American experiment will not survive unless White Americans confront the question of race. For me, that’s nothing new. Growing up in southern California, race is something I’ve been very conscious of since I was a young girl.
Watching the Watts Riots on tv and living with my mother’s bigotry didn’t set me up very well to live in the world with people of color. I’ve worked on my attitudes, and I’ve never had the delusion that I was without prejudice. I think that’s the very first step to confronting Whiteness. But it’s definitely not the last.
Time and again I’ve started a New Year’s Resolution and by the end of January my enthusiasm to keep the resolution has all but fizzled out. Maybe some of you have experienced this tiresome cycle.
This year I’m trying to combat the cycle by hitching my resolution to my yoga practice. Since I do yoga as often as I can, I figured this would help me in carry out my new priority.
First, you need to know a few things about me. I like to accomplish tasks quickly and efficiently at the expense of neatness and 
tidiness. Picture a closet gushing with scarves, slippers and hats, or finding a lotion bottle with the cleaning supplies. This of course is not the way to a clean and tidy house, and in the end will probably cost me more time in the hunt than it would to put the item away properly.
Like the items exploding from the closet, this is a part of my mind I don’t want to face. Taking time to intentionally put things where they need to go (clothes in the dresser not on the floor!) means a complete rewiring of my brain. This, my friends, is where yoga comes into the picture.
One essential part of yoga is connecting the mind with every movement. When I am practicing I make thoughtful and intentional choices in each position that suit my body. Taking the extra moment to connect mind to body is what makes my yoga practice so beneficial.
One day I realized this intentional mind set is what I was lacking at home. Since then I’ve started taking some extra time to connect my intentions of a clean house to my actions. This means I’ve started to place things in their designated spots instead of leaving them in random places. I still have moments of relapse but every time I go back to yoga I reconnect with my priority.
It has not been easy but I have seen growth in myself and have gained the extra time spent cleaning when I go to find something and it’s in the right spot!
So I’m driving home from yoga class listening to an interview of Sue Grafton, the great detective writer and thinking I need to just write a little bit every day this year. Well, is it too late since yesterday was the first?
And then I realize I’m hungry, and I see that the garbage can is tipped over blocking the driveway, and it’s the first day it’s gotten out of the negatives since last year. So maybe I should actually take a walk. And check to see if the little free library needs to be restocked.
And also the Energy Audit guy is coming in ten minutes. And I have at least two text messages that came when I was in Downward Facing Dog, and no telling how many phone calls. Oh, and I still have a yoga class to plan. But here I am, at my computer, putting my intention of writing each day out into the world.
And feeling excited about it!
Resolutions. Intentions. Whatever. If we take them too seriously, they can set us up for failure, discouragement and self flagellation. But no change comes without action. No goals are met unless we do the work. And chunking down the work is key to progress. At least for me.
So, here’s my first chunk of writing for 2018. Inspired by Sue Grafton who was working on W in her series of 26 detective novels, one for each letter of the alphabet. Talking about how she’d keep writing about Kinsey Milhone after Z is for Zero. But that didn’t happen. She left a missing piece, and an inspiration for me.
Winter has finally arrived! The solstice brings a sense of peace and serenity to the great outdoors. Likewise, Teachers and students are getting ready for some much-needed relaxation.
Shelly Johnson, Martha McCormick and I planned to travel to Puerto Rico this Tuesday. Next Step was chosen to present at the North American Association of Environmental Educators’ (NAAEE) Annual Conference in San Juan this week. Our presentations were planned, and we were looking forward to learning about a place we had never visited.
Instead, we have anxiously followed the news as two storms approached and hit the island, and through the weeks since. Here are some of the things we learned–
People are dying. Three weeks of recovery, yet so many US citizens continue to live in devastation. This is unacceptable.
If 3 million people were suffering in a different part of the country, perhaps even Iowa, I can’t help but think the response would be different. Constant media coverage would put a spotlight on the slow recovery. A stream of politicians would visit. Certainly, the president of the United States would not be threatening to abandon relief efforts.
Obviously, our conference was cancelled. The organizers have scrambled to make some of the conference topics available online. We’ve been invited to submit the materials we would have presented to a virtual conference site.
Here are some of our plans. Focusing on these projects has been difficult because my mind dwells on the families living in such desperate circumstances in Puerto Rico.
SESSION TITLE: Keeping Environmental Education Programs Fresh: Aligning with Next Generation Science Standards
SUMMARY: Naturalists’ interactions with school groups have a major impact on the next generation. By tweaking programs as school curriculum evolves, naturalists can expand their outreach.
SESSION TITLE: Teaching with Mini Wind Turbines and Solar Panels: Opportunities and Challenges
SUMMARY: Renewable energy production is on the rise, offering both benefits and challenges for our next generation. Learn about these technologies as well as strategies for incorporating them into STEM learning experiences for students.
Even though we don’t get to travel to Puerto Rico this year, our hearts are with the people of that small island. If you’d like to donate to the recovery efforts, here’s a link that may help you decide the best route to do so.
Gardening gets kids excited about how things grow. Use time in the garden to apply math concepts, and experience wonder. To wonder so much you want to read, ask questions and read some more.
For many of us, buying new pencils, pumpkin spiced everything, football, and warm socks mark the beginning of fall! But for teachers autumn ushers in a wellspring of environmental education themes. Three topics are especially interesting this time of year–resilience, migration, and animals we love to hate.
Perhaps our strongest instinct is for self preservation. Even in the most difficult conditions, living creatures strive to survive. Fall is a time many animals gather resources and prepare for the long winter ahead. Even though they run around like crazy, squirrels show a lot of discipline as they collect their food for winter to improve their chances of survival.
Watching the preparations squirrels and other mammals are making leads to a unit on human survival. While humans don’t gather nuts and berries to survive the winter, we do have basic needs to take care of–warm clothes, winterizing our homes, preserving food from the garden. Help your students compare how people and animals adapt to the environment. 
Migration is a lighter topic for fall. Nothing like a road trip!
As I enjoyed my morning run I noticed a Monarch butterfly fluttering along next to me. Besides their magnificent colors, Monarchs are capable of a journey that would be nearly impossible for a human without a car or airplane, flying from the northern United States and Canada to California and Mexico.
Take your class outside to appreciate the fact that the Monarch is about to embark on a perilous journey. Spark a conversation about cycles and patterns. Have students write a letter to a butterfly explaining what it can expect on its journey and wishing it well; older students can research areas the Monarchs will travel through.
Have students create a map showing the Monarchs’ route. Students can demonstrate their understanding of migratory patterns , as well as the lifecycle of the Monarch. Extend the lesson by adding migrations for different birds that fly through your area.
Especially at Halloween, there are certain animals we love to hate. We decorate our yards and homes with animals that typically scare us–spiders, bats and snakes, oh my! It’s the perfect time to get kids to talk about their fears, and the un-scary, even helpful things these animals do.
Initiate critical thinking through the book Vulture Verses: Love Poems for the Unloved by Diane Lang; it focuses on the creepy crawly animals. Lang opens conversation about the crucial role every animal plays in the environment. We don’t have to love these animals but we can respect what they do for us!
Happy Autumn!
