A teacher in New York was teaching her class about bullying and them the following exercise to perform. She had the children take a piece of paper and told them to crumple it up, stomp on it and really mess it up but do not rip it. Then she had them unfold the paper smooth it out and look at how scarred and dirty it was. She then told them to tell it they’re sorry. Now even though they said they were sorry and tried to fix the paper, she pointed out all the scars left behind. And that those scars will never go away no matter how hard they tried to fix it. This is what happens when a child bullies another child, they may say they’re sorry but the scars are there forever. The look on the faces of the children in the classroom told her the message hit home.
Things I wish someone had told me as a teenager
1) Some people contribute to the world by being environmental chemists or doctors or astrophysicists, and some people contribute to the world by being writers or comic book artists or musicians, and none of those things are less important than any of the others.
2) You can learn to draw or sing or write on your own, but you can also learn physics or chemistry or plant biology on your own.
3) Going to school for hard sciences and going to school for fine arts teaches you about your field, but neither degree guarantees you a job and what really matters is learning how to make connections and get work experience and make connections. Those things are equally important in all fields.
4) Any major can be an expensive waste of time.
5) Any major can look like an expensive waste of time to other people but really be worth it in your own life because of what it meant to you and how it helped you grow as a person.
6) People will call lots of things other people do expensive wastes of time, because those things weren’t their expensive wastes of time.
7) You can get a good degree and land a real job, then retire and do art as a hobby. You can also go to film school and direct independent arthouse films, then retire and take up theoretical maths as a hobby.
8) You can have a huge broad range of interests, and it is perfectly fine if you decide that your silliest and most frivolous is your true calling. The world needs people who go to clown school. The world needs dancers and graphic designers and chefs.
9) Sometimes people will say they support you and despite their best efforts try to nudge you, subtly or-not-so-subtly, towards the paths in life they think are most worthy.
10) Sometimes people will say they support you, and you have to trust that they will continue to do so even if you don’t take the paths in life they would have hoped.
11) Sometimes people will say they support you, and mean it.
Native pride is forbidden here
socialistworker.org
IN A celebration of her heritage, a Native American high school student wore an eagle feather in her graduation cap on May 23 during the ceremony in Atmore, Ala. The school administration responded by fining her and her family $1,000 for adding this “extraneous item” to the traditional cap and gown.
Chelsey Ramer is a member of the Poarch Creek Band of Indians, which is the only federally recognized tribe in Alabama. The Poarch Creeks are one of the few tribes and nations east of the Mississippi River that did not face the brutal and deadly genocidal policy of “Indian Removal” from their lands. They have been living around the area now known as Atmore for almost 200 years.
Chelsey Ramer’s act, although not analyzed as such in most news reports, ended up being a protest against a racist discriminatory policy and cultural bias by a private school administration. Unfortunately, it represents a broader epidemic of institutionalized discrimination against Native Americans across North America.
Ramer spoke to the Indian Country Today website about her actions:
About two months ago, me and the other Indian seniors from the graduating class asked our headmaster if we could wear the feathers on our caps. She told us “no,” and that if we did, she would pull us off the field.
Ramer explained that soon after the meeting, the school tried to give students a contract to sign confirming that they would abide by school rules, and if they didn’t they would not be able to participate in graduation. She said, “I never signed that paper.”
On the day of graduation, she proudly wore the eagle feather as a symbol of honor for her achievement. Another Native American student wore a feather on their necklace but was not fined. Some of Ramer’s friends, who originally planned to wear the eagle feather, felt the school pressure and opted to not face the possibilities of being reprimanded.
Ramer’s former teacher, Alex Alvarez, who is also Native American and a family friend responded to the school:
I think this is ridiculous. If they took the time to understand and respect the differences in individuals, this would have never happened. We don’t have much left as Indian people, to give a child an eagle feather, as an achievement should be adhered to. The kicker is that this is a private school. Private institutions still have to follow federal guidelines, especially in regards to the American Indian Religious Freedom Act.
THE AMERICAN Indian Religious Freedom Act, passed in 1980, explicitly states:
That henceforth it shall be the policy of the United States to protect and preserve for American Indians their inherent right of freedom to believe, express and exercise the traditional religions of the American Indian, Eskimo, Aleut and Native Hawaiians, including but not limited to access to sites, use and possession of sacred objects, and the freedom to worship through ceremonials and traditional rites.
School is Kewl
Excuse the title. I’m really happy I chose Visual Arts for my elective this year. We had our orientation yesterday for 2 hours with Sir Ahyong. I’m so hyped because we’re going to be doing a lot of drawing, painting, photography and etc. Oh and not to mention interior design, engineering and architecture. I regret nothing.
Oh yeah takas takas rin pag my time hehe oh you know just cruisin’ & drivin’ around Paranaque
On other news, I joined three clubs this year oh yeah (para naman may malagay sa yearbook)
