Students, About that Walkout: Totally Do It.

Hi Students,

Thanks for taking the time to read this.  I wanted to take a minute to talk to you about the walkout scheduled for March 14th (or April 20th, depending on where you are in the country.)  I am a history teacher and mom of two girls and I’m one of many adults that will tell you to totally do it.

The walk out has to do with protesting gun violence in schools.  It’s completely fitting that you, the students, would want to do this.  After all, you’re the ones who go to school every day, the ones who have to deal with this fear, the ones who have to go through the drills and the what ifs.  What if an armed intruder comes into the school. What do you call it?  An active shooter? A code red?  Whatever you call it, or your school calls it, it’s totally wrong that it’s something you have to worry about.  You should be worrying about what college you want to go to, who you want to go to the school dance with, whether or not you want to try out for the school play.  You should not have to worry about whether or not there’s a student with a gun who’s going to shoot you in school.

This is your chance to use your bodies in a political movement. The truth of the matter is that money moves politics, and the lobbyists have all the money.   There aren’t a lot of political options open to non-voters, but one of them is peaceful protest.  It’s a protection in the First Amendment, along with freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and freedom of religion.  Freedom to peaceably assemble is right there too.  It’s your right,all of our rights as American Citizens.  Thomas Jefferson called them “unalienable rights” along with Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.   I’d say that not getting killed by a gun in school qualifies toward Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness, wouldn’t you?

There are a bunch of letters out there from other teachers who are encouraging you to have a Walk Up rather than a Walk Out.  The idea is that rather than using your bodies to politically protest, you use your bodies to sit down next to the lonely kid next to you, you share a sandwich, you be a nice kid.  And I want to tell you, that’s great, but you can totally do that 179 other days of the year.  In fact, sit down the day before the walk out next to the lonely kid, share your sandwich, and invite them to the Walk Out with you.

Because here’s the thing.  This is ONE DAY.  The walk out is a movement.  It’s a way to organize.  It’s a way to be powerful both individually and part of a group.  It’s being educated about a subject, and making a decision to do something about it, at the same time as everyone else.  It’s a national movement of all teenagers who have said, “Enough.  Enough of being afraid.  Enough of choosing the right of gun owners over the lives of kids.”  And doing it all together, all at the same time, gives it more power.  So Walk Out Proudly.

You might be getting pressure by principals and teachers to not participate in the Walk Out.  They might be threatening you with disciplinary action, detention or suspension, or whatever.  Keep in mind, these are the same people who celebrate people who hid Jews during the Holocaust, who teach you about Martin Luther King, and sitting at lunch counters in Woolworth, or about suffragettes marching for Women’s right to vote.  Here’s the thing.  All of those people whom  you read about and celebrate, they were acting against the law because it was the right thing to do.  It’s called Civil Disobedience.  Why are your principals and teachers against this idea of  your civil disobedience, but celebrate the civil disobedience of historical figures?  Well, let’s just say that democracy is messy and complicated, and it’s hard for your principal and other school leaders to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Their job is to protect you and to make sure that there is order and discipline.  They’re seeing the potential risks to having a bunch of kids walk out, not the potential greatness.

So here’s what you do.  You educate yourself on why you are walking out.  You organize with your friends.  You stay respectful to the adults in your life, while staying true to yourself.  Remember, this is only 17 minutes, from 10 am to 10:17 am, after that you go back in the school and go back to work taking notes and raising your hand, eating in the cafeteria and running track.

Here’s the other thing you do.  You bring your phone.  You take lots of pictures and videos.  And you post them on all of your social media accounts.  You make this go around the world again and again and again.  You show your power as soon-to-be-voters and internet savvy consumers.

And then you do one other thing.  You write to your Members of Congress.  You write to the President.  Maybe you even send them a picture.  You say that you’re a student who Walked Out and you tell them why you walked out.  And you tell them that you’re not going away.  And that they will be voted out if they don’t change the gun laws to protect kids in schools.  Governing is just a plan for the future. If you don’t like the way your representatives are running the government, you can vote them out in favor of someone that has a better plan .  You have the power, or you will very soon.

One more thing.  I want to tell you how proud I am that you’re taking a stand and making yourself visible.  You are going to be the leaders of the world, and I’m glad to see that you’re doing it with thought and responsibility.  That’s what this country needs more of, young people who speak truth to power.  Speak your truth.

Please share this with your friends, and let me know how it goes.  I can’t wait to watch this unfold. You are Brave Fragile Warriors. Be safe and have fun.

 

 

Taking a Transplant to School!

Dear School Nurse:

My child has a transplanted organ.  Here is what I would like you to know.

My child can get sick faster and harder than most other kids.  As you know, schools can be a giant petri dish of germs, and the best way to discourage their spread is by careful hand washing.  Please make time to discuss with the class where my daughter is about what careful hand washing looks like.  Please have the teacher commit to taking time before lunch to have each child clean their hands, either with soap and water, or with a quick spurt of hand sanitizer as they walk out the door.  Discouraging the sharing of food would be good too.

Then, please write a letter home to parents, asking them to err on the side of caution when sending their sick kids to school.  Most parents, when they know that sending their borderline contagious kid might send my child to the hospital, will be  more likely to think twice about doing so.  If you mention that you’d be happy to talk to them on the phone to help them decide, they may or may not take you up on it.  I know it’s some extra work for you, but it will probably keep the school healthier as a whole.

Offer to go into the class to talk about organ transplantation.  Ask my child how much she wants her classmates to know.  Some kids want to share everything, some kids are afraid.  But it’s been my experience that the sooner you talk about it, the faster it becomes normalized.  My child might not be able to do some sports, like contact sports that involve getting hit in the abdomen, and it’s good to have these discussions in the beginning, so my child can say, “It’s because of my kidney,” if other kids ask.

Because my child is likely to get sick and hospitalized, please help me to set up a 504 as quickly as possible, so that if she is out for more than 5 days in a row, she can get tutoring services, and if she misses a lot of school, I don’t want her to be left back a grade.

This is a lot to ask in the beginning of the school year, and I know that you have a lot to do.  But if you help to do these things early, it will make the school year go much smoother.  I like to think of us as a team to keep my  daughter as healthy as possible.  We sort of have “joint custody” over her body–I have her on nights and weekends, and you have her days.  Please take care of her.  I worry about her all the time, and I want to be able to trust you.

And please, please, please, call me if you have any questions or problems.  I want to hear from you.  I want to work this out together.

Thank you so much for taking the time to listen to me.

Sincerely,

Darcy Daniels