Bending The Arc 5th Anniversary Edition!
A Social Justice Newsletter for Educators
Bending The Arc is 5 years old!
One of the commitments I’m making to myself in middle age is to celebrate freely and often. So here I go:
The fact that this little-publication-that-could continues to develop and find readers across continents and disciplines remains a source of marvel and humility for me. So THANK YOU for reading, responding, sharing and subscribing. It means the world!
In honor of this auspicious occasion, I decided to look back at how we got here. This post marks #61 since September of 2019. That’s a lot of words, a mountain of links (some of which have certainly expired) and several baskets of topics that merit our attention. While it felt impossible to go back and read all of those posts, I focused on the September editions and found clues about how my thinking has evolved in curating and foregrounding social justice resources both for classrooms and our personal learning. I invite you to pick an early edition and see what still resonates or feels helpful.
Five Septembers of Bending The Arc
September 2019 Bending The Arc Goes Public
“Like Theodore Parker, whose quote was famously paraphrased by Dr. Martin Luther King, I cannot see or be certain about where we may find ourselves on the arc of the moral universe, but I do see a need for us to do what we can as individuals, communities and institutions to bend that arc towards justice. Hence this newsletter project, designed to offer you three social justice resources per month for your own edification and to explore with students and colleagues.”
September 2020 Gender and sexuality resources
“As we start our school year I want to encourage all of us to spend some time interrogating gender, sexuality and identity and how these show up in our classrooms, in our biases and in our day to day lives. Gender and sexuality are areas of learning for me, where I feel much more ignorant than knowledgeable. That's a sign of work that needs doing!”
September 2021 Labor organizing and food production
“Perhaps my greatest insight so far in this project has been recognizing the deep interconnectedness of oppressions. Climate disaster, Western imperialism, white supremacy, patriarchy - these are inextricably tied and the most vulnerable, those likely to be most negatively impacted, are poor Black, Indigenous and people of color. Once you get beyond cursory glances, it’s impossible to escape this truth.”
September 2022 Water justice
“One of the things that struck me as I tried to pull my thoughts together on these related, far-reaching topics: water and climate disaster, political neglect and water scarcity, profit motives and water pollution; I’m asking myself, how do we educate for generations? How do we build consciousness for futures that extend beyond our students’ lifetimes?
If we consider the specific challenges presented here, many of the causes are rooted in negotiating short term advantages (profits, political power) over the prospects of long term sustainability. Capitalism and neoliberalism live off this framing of everything.”
September 2023 Equity in calendaring, early years race talk, critical AI perspectives
“What I’ve learned over the last several years is that DEIJ is neither easy nor convenient to package, despite the market’s urge to demonstrate otherwise. Injustices surround us; they are pervasive, unwieldy, multi-pronged and enduring. Our approaches to counter them need to be far more transparent in acknowledging that fundamental truth. It is in that spirit that these missives keep shifting in form and substance. A color-coded and neatly themed presentation of the realities at hand are not my ministry.”
Clearly, this is a “What do you notice? What do you wonder?” moment.
I want to add one more quote which I think captures what this newsletter strives to accomplish precisely in the face of difficult and tragic developments:
Mid-October 2023 Responding to Gaza
“I’m writing now, not because I know. Rather, I am writing now in an attempt at learning, at doing better, at resisting the comfort of ignorance trying to pass itself off as innocence. Bending The Arc as a project is concerned with justice; with repair and recovery; with better, more nuanced understanding.” (Emphasis added.)
If nothing else, this newsletter has forced me to confront myself and my own limitations. I’ve had to recognize how little I know; how much I have to learn. The good news is that resources abound. We are literally swimming in information, yet those waters are increasingly polluted and clogged with dubious sources and artificial content. Being vigilant, curious and generous are all qualities that help us navigate these contexts carefully. They also enable us to build resilient learning communities wherever we are.
Looking ahead
I have a few tabs I’ve kept open in anticipation of being able to finally share their bounty. I know, I always go way beyond my initial offer of three resources AND I trust you to decide how much is too much.
PSA: Please protect yourself and others by getting an updated COVID booster. As summer waves have made headlines in several parts of the world, antigen tests, masks and booster shots have become more readily available again. Check with your local authorities to find out where you can get your booster.
Eyes on Sudan. The raging war between conventional military and an insurgent militia has killed thousands while also displacing millions who are now facing starvation and disease. I strongly encourage you to read this analysis from The Economist which describes the situation and the stakes of failing to address deteriorating humanitarian and political circumstances in the region.
Challenging the myths fuelling the Generative AI hype. Eryk Salvaggio offers a clear-eyed breakdown of the ways in the metaphors used to describe Gen AI’s capabilities and use cases can both oversimplify and flatten the realities of what the tech can and cannot do. I found this piece particularly accessible and would recommend for HS and college students as valuable reading.
The Jewish High Holy days of Rosh Hashanah (Oct. 2-4) and Yom Kippur (Oct 11-12) arrive this year in early October. Students and staff who observe may be out of school. Please mark your calendars and avoid planning major assessments or due dates on those days.
IMAGINE!
Finally, in keeping with the theme of celebration, I can’t wait to see what you and your students do with The Imagination Playbook! Assembled by Dr. Ariana Brazier, the playbook includes a wealth of activities to stimulate and strengthen our capacities to dream and create. It is based on major themes in Ruha Benjamin’s recent book, Imagination: A Manifesto.
The first Bending The Arc Meet-up is happening on Sunday, September 22nd, 2024, 15:00 -16:00 CEST. (That’s 9am EST, 8pm in Hanoi, right?) Please join if you are able!
Thanks again for your support!
Be well,
Sherri