So I’m about to head out for close to two weeks without internet access.
However, I don’t want to leave my Readers completely hanging, AND I have this little project I want to get going, so to kill two birds with one stone:
I ask you, the readers, to submit your stories about times in school (or with mentors or other youth workers) when an adult said or did something that made you feel unsafe/uncomfortable/unwelcome based on your membership in a particular oppressed group. It can also be when the adult present dropped the ball by doing nothing when somebody else said or did something (i.e. another student said something racist/sexist/otherwise offensive and the teacher pretended not to hear, dismissed it, etc.).
These don’t have to be polished "stories." Just the key details, what went down, how you felt about it, how it affected you in the long-term. Just post them straight to the comments, so other readers can hear about other people’s experiences (and have something to look forward to while I’m gone). Also let me know if I can contact you later for further details (if "no," I respect that, and would still love to hear your story).
I’m planning on using these stories to help inform a Diversity Training model I’m developing (and possibly initiating in the Fall) specifically geared towards youth workers and teachers. Want to give folks a taste of what kind of impact those "little things" that they don’t even realize they are doing can have on the youth they work with.
So – please help me help you. Tell me your stories. Share them in the comments section with your fellow Readers. And if you’re a bit shy and don’t want to have everybody else reading them, I definitely still want to hear it, so please feel free to send them to me at "choptensils AT gmail DOT com."
CHOP-TENSILS 