Summer Schooling

[DGS49]

White kids, mostly girls, spend time during summer breaks going to "camps." Often these are academically peripheral, but sometimes substantive.

Think "Coding Camp." Think Language Camp. Think Math Camp.

My older grand-daughter (9) went to "cheerleading camp," which I find rather disappointing. She and her sister will go to "farm camp" later.

I should say that their white-suburban-privileged-as-hell school district went at it with particular vigor this past 15 months, and the local collective wisdom is that they were able, generally, to stay academically current with the combination of in-person, on line, and video instruction. Thank God for white privilege.

 

[Unkotare]

... .. ... i truly hope you arent being forced to teach crt and other things that demonize the country .

I am not, and I will not.

thank you ...thank you for standing up for our children .

I always will. I take great pains to make sure my students, their families, and the community are valued and respected. It is not necessary to create antagonisms in order to do that. My students are taught all the good, bad, and ugly about History without bashing any country or people. My students know how much I love America with all its virtues and flaws. My students know I will always hold them to high standards and that I respect them all as individuals with different goals, circumstances, challenges, strengths, and learning styles. Almost all of my students are non-native speakers of English. They and their families realize the vital importance of learning English. I've never had a parent or guardian come to a parent-teacher conference and demand or so much as suggest I speak all day in their child's first language. Exactly the contrary. I provide translation here and there of a word or phrase, and maybe a longer explanation of something that is particularly confusing to a student once in a while, but almost all students and their families want and expect English to be taught and used as much as possible. I also let them know, and use said information, that any and all of the language skills my students bring with them from their homes and their cultures are valued as useful tools in learning English. Tools must be used in the right way to be useful instead of harmful.

I will always do my best for my students. That never means bashing my beloved country or creating divisions between people. My students and their families don't want that in any case.

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