Thursday June 13

Creating a safe space to create those bridges together and move toward anti-racist learning

listen in a way that honours what is being said

active listening

creating a non judgmental space

what is my body lang saying

have to acknowledge the power imbalance to people who are completely un aware that there is an imbalance

you have to have a base to grow from

Kumashiro - Chapter 4: Preparing teachers for healing

What are Buddhist ways?

awakening

dharma - truth

lead moral life

be thoughtful

seek knowledge

all life is suffering

getting what you want does not bring happiness- change in the way we look at want

live in present

to rid suffering we have to start to question the norms

People suffer because they attribute meaning and value to knowledge and the signs of reality instead of reality itself.

The world operates on binaries

All they do is reinforce a hierarchy, and exclude 3rd parties that don't fit into either category.

There is a false belief that things are fixed and independent. 

We tend to cling to knowledge, but we don't recognize that knowledge can mean different things to different people

We must start to address our limitations of what we teach and learn and how we come to know

We must use knowledge in ways to both improve our lives and interrupt the suffering that results in how we learn and what we think. 

In this way teachers can become healers

We need to be more metacognitively aware

there is an element of pain in learning  because western society is so focused on the individual not as the collective

Chapter 5 - Preparing for Activism, a reflection on things Queer

What is normal?

As Teachers

We must be willing to step outside comfort zone

We must be willing to argue for all types of social justice

Society teaches us not only to conform, but that we should want to conform. 

Changing Queer into meaning something empowering and disruptive

Queer Activists work to expose problems with the status quo and help us to imagine and create a more socially just status quo.

As teachers we need to challenge the oppressive practices that are the norm and our emotional discomfort and response. 

Queerness is a contrast to which normalcy is established

Change requires a willingness to step outside your comfort zone- this is a big challenge for those who benefit from the status quo

the activist queer teacher

going to push norms - challenge norms

about who we want to be and grow into

being queer is about layers of positivity and being able to grow and question beliefs

            use of discomfort or crisis

labeling sometimes takes away from the norm --- there is no normal

queer is part of the flux of reclaiming and relearning

I was very happy to read this chapter.  It was a huge AH HA moment.  The name Queer makes sense.  I do have some hesitation on using it, but it is not that I don't want to be associated with the LGBT community.  The hesitation comes from not knowing about how members of the LGBT community feel about their "word" being used in this context. 

I will talk to my friend W to get feedback.  He is one of the key organizers for Pride Edmonton.  He is very involved with the LGBT activist community and I  value his feedback.  If he doesn't have a problem with it, then why should I.