Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.
Mark Twain
Guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism.
George Washington
I notice in these times, that many people who would ordinarily be thinking only of their job in the classrooms or buildings are now forced to consider the bigger context in which they are trying to teach or run a building. Every day we are confronted with decisions about compliance or questioning or resisting. How do we discern what to do?
It would be nice if there were a formula for a cost/benefit calculation. I have yet to see that. Instead, it seems there is a point that some people reach where they can no longer go on, stifle their voices, continue to comply. They are compelled to act whether it is quitting with an articulate letter or video, refusing to administer tests along with an articulate letter or video, walk out as Seattle area teachers recently did, teach what you believe is good for your students anyway.
I continue to think of Zach Serrano’s High School English Language Arts unit. The theme was the moment you decide you have to take action–resist, protest, speak. What motivated people to take that step? They read stories from people who had done that through history and thought about themselves–what would motivate them to act. This was literacy instruction that was transformative for kids—as they used their ability to read and think in order to learn about a way of living in this world, reflected on what it meant to them and then synthesized their learning through verbal and written communication of their ideas.
We might all want to do our own version of Zach’s unit–what motivates or would motivate me to act? For now, I am trying out small actions like supporting a colleague to figure out how to do what s/he believes is in the interest of students when there are other kinds of directives, asking questions when orders don’t make sense instead of pretending they do, keeping contact with allies in case there is a call to organize.
I have learned that the real stories behind the myths of our heroes and events include strategy, organization and numbers leading up to the moment.
For now, I watch and learn and experiment. I hope I will know when that time has to end in bigger action.
Photo: Page, Brian. draftcard.jpg. 1974. Pics4Learning. 24 May 2015 <http://pics.tech4learning.com