April 21, 2021
Dear LREI Community,
Good morning. I wish we, teachers and students, were together today. I wish that we, the adults in the community, were able to be together, face-to-face, sitting in a circle today. I wish our faculty meeting later this afternoon would allow us to see our whole selves, not just whatever fits in the rectangle. Our conversations regarding the murder of George Floyd are crying out to be had in-person. Even though we are good at Zoom togetherness, it is not the same. It has something to do with the shared human experience of really being together. That is, for me, at the center of this conversation – each person’s humanity, our collective humanity. Putting our respect for, obligation to, love of our fellow human beings at the top of our priority list. Doing so individually in the ways in which we live our lives and doing this as a community, as a society, as we construct our policies and systems.
I hope that, in the days to come, we will talk about what the future might become. I hope that we spend time imagining what systems and policies and plans could be, what possibilities exist, how we can remake what is not working in order to honor each life equally? As a matter of fact, two groups of eleventh graders are out on their junior class “trip” researching this topic right now, joining many others in learning, thinking, talking, researching and imagining a new way.
Beyond reading, researching, listening, questioning, debating, what can we do? We saw, during this trial and at the moment George Floyd was killed, great bravery on the part of those present at the time of the murder who then bore witness to the world. The outcome of this trial would likely have been different had it not been for these courageous people. Add to this the bravery and the commitment of the thousands who have marched to keep the nation’s focus on accountability and justice.
As you saw in my email yesterday afternoon, as we have in the past, this seems like an important time for interested parents and other adults at home to have an opportunity to come together to share thoughts on having these conversations with our children. I invite you to join a parent gathering at 6:30p.m. today, Wednesday, April 21. You will be able to find a Zoom link here.
I encourage you to read this piece from today’s NY Times – How I’m Talking to My Kids About the Derek Chauvin Verdict by Esau McCaulley. And in this National Poetry Month, I encourage you to listen to this conversation with poet Kwame Alexander.
I am proud of the work our students, your children, do each day. They are powerful people with skills and knowledge aplenty. As they amass these tools, each day, they are growing, by leaps and bounds. Justice, equity, a system that values and cares for all – there is no greater purpose to which our students can apply all that they learn in school. I am looking forward to living in the world they are creating.
Peace,
