So Ellen Balthazar (EISD School Board member), Darshana Kalikstein, and Kristin Shaw (key Eanes4Equity members) want you to believe that equity is something anodyne and uncontroversial. They want you to believe that equity simply means equal opportunity or all students getting the resources they need to be successful. Turns out, they can want that to […]
3. Defining Equity: Shhh, Don’t Talk about It
Let’s Pause. Before we more on, let me ask you this: has anyone on the EISD School Board or in the Eanes administration ever explained these ideas about equity before? Is it addressed in the District’s FAQs? Has anyone from Eanes4Equity ever written this in the newsletter or sent it in an email? Is it posted at […]
2. Defining Equity: Pop Quiz! Inputs or Outputs?
Apply the Framework Now that we have the framework for defining equity, let’s look at some examples. As you read these examples, ask yourself whether the speaker is defining an input model or an output model of equity. A MEMBER OF THE SCHOOL BOARD Ellen Balthazar, 21-year member of the Eanes School Board, defining equity: “[Of […]
1. Defining Equity: Inputs vs. Outputs
Why Is the Term Equity So Contentious? In our Eanes community, we have a HUGE misunderstanding about the word equity. In trying to define it, we’re talking past each other. In one camp, it’s members of the Eanes School Board and Eanes4Equity. In the other camp, it’s community members who oppose the efforts of the district and the […]
Can You Trust Eanes4Equity for Accurate Info?
A Conversation with E4E A few days ago, I had a Twitter back and forth (all public) with someone on the Eanes4Equity Communications Committee. I had criticized the EISD librarians for their creation of the District’s notorious 2020 resource list. Remember that back then, the School Board had asked the librarians to curate a list […]
On Anonymity
Thoughts on anonymity. Here’s someone’s concern: My Response. 1. My anonymity is irrelevant to the quality of my ideas. I am criticizing the School Board’s policies. My identity has no bearing on the validity of my arguments. In fact, it may make assessing the arguments easier because the arguments stand on their own, not bolstered […]
AISD Pride Week: Race, Class, and Luxury Beliefs
Doss Elementary School and Bowie High School received a lot of scrutiny last week, both brought to national attention by Twitter’s LibsofTikTok. Through AISD employee Twitter (post after post after post after post), we saw that Doss Elementary employees are more enthusiastic about Pride Week than a bachelorette party at Ausin’s old Oilcan Harry’s. (“YOLO, […]
AISD Pride Week: The Intersection of Svengali, Jim Jones, and Mao
During Austin ISD’s week-long celebration of Pride Week, one of the high schools scheduled time for painting nails while watching the TV show Queer Eye. Some Twitter users responded that this activity was just painting nails. No big deal. Eye roll. But it is a big deal. And here’s why. The issue isn’t whether a […]
AISD Pride Week: Queer, queering, queered
For Austin ISD’s Pride Week celebrations, in 3rd-grade classrooms, the lesson plans include reading the book Julián Is a Mermaid. It’s a book with lovely illustrations about an imaginative boy and his supportive grandmother. What’s the big deal? Well, if that were the sum total of the story & the sum total of the message, […]
AISD Pride Week, Part 2: Violating Boundaries
Unbelievable: next week, teachers and administrators will be celebrating Pride Week with kids. Teachers and administrators in Austin ISD think that it’s their role to discuss sex and gender with children. Really, all of our spidey senses should be screaming. A Quick Framing of the Issue When I was a young teacher in an elementary […]