School's about to start, with a number of challenges that will make things even more interesting than normal.  Last year set the bar, I think, for a disorganized, dysfunctional disaster.  It shouldn't be THAT bad this time around!  But still, kids don't have their schedules yet, six teachers still need to be hired, and the district's replacement for Zangle is not fully up and running.  It should be, as Steussy put it, a "bumpy" start to the year.

We're also adding another 100 or so additional students this year, on top of last year's 200 (?) added students.  For whatever reason, the district - knowing about this increase months in advance - again hasn't taken the steps needed to accomodate these additional students in a a timely manner.  Quite disturbing......  The School of International Studies - designed for 500 kids, gradually increasing to about 550 over the years - will now have some 850 students.  The "small school" idea lives on, but not as fully as before. 

The good news is that IS remains an outstanding school with an extraordinary staff.  Most of us have been around a long time, know what we're doing, like our kids and like one another.  The student body is comprised of really nice kids who generally take good care of one another and get along well with the staff.  So we'll muddle through the BS that this new year brings, and it'll be all good. 

Here's wishing us all a great 2013/2014!

Two weeks vacation - yippee!  Actually, while I enjoy time off, I enjoy working just as much.  It's nice to get a break, but also nice to come back afterwards.  I love my job.

A big part of the reason is the school itself, and especially the kids.  I've got such nice kids in my classes; they're really fun to be around and they keep me young.  Most of the sophomores are starting to figure out that my gruff exterior and strict standards aren't the whole story, and we're making some good connections and personal relationships.  The seniors - many of whom I'm teaching for the 3rd year now - know what the deal is, and we have a mutually-respectful, yet relaxed and friendly relationahip.  Very much what the idea of small schools is all about.  The juniors in my TOK classes - well, they're somewhere in between.

But it's the time of year to give thanks, and so I want to give a shout out to all my kids for making me happy to go to work every day.  (Extra special shout out to my Nerd Club regulars!)  I'm gonna keep giving you crap when you deserve it, but you know it's because I only want good things for you in the long run.

Have a great vacation, guys, and I'm looking forward to seeing you all again in 2013.

(This essay is also available on my blog website that can earn you extra credit)

ERACISM

That was the lettering that went along with a cool design on t-shirts that my school sold in the 1990s, and a creative way of getting across the message of ending racism.  In a place where students and staff alike are as likely to be black, brown, Asian or “all of the above” as they are to be white, Eracism was a pretty important concept.  I bought one of those shirts and wore it for many years before it finally gave out and got recycled. 

“Discrimination encouraged here!”  That, written large on my whiteboard, was what greeted students one morning, and it sure got their attention.  Why would you want us to discriminate, Mr. Strebler; I thought you didn’t like racism?”  But discrimination, just like racism, is a word that is very often misunderstood and misused, and that was the point of the slogan on the board.

When you look up discriminate in Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary (this is what we used in the dark, dark days before Wikipedia), you see that, just like most words, it is defined in a number of ways.  It is only the fourth definition given that refers to “make a difference in treatment or favor on a basis other than individual merit; against a certain nationality.”  The earlier, more generally correct definitions have to do with telling the difference between one thing and another.  For instance, a wise voter can discriminate between a qualified candidate and one not so qualified, while a discriminating diner can tell the difference between a good meal and a so-so meal.  Similarly, only the last definition given for discrimination has to do with prejudice against someone or some group. 

And that was the point of what was on my board.  Students should make judgments – they should discriminate – about the various things they hear on the news, from friends, family, and teachers, and about what they read in school books.  They should differentiate between credible and not believable, make good decisions more so than bad ones, etc.  The other point, of course, was to get the kids thinking about what the word itself means, and how they so commonly misuse it.  Discrimination – as properly defined – is mostly a good thing. 

It’s kind of the same idea with racism and racist.  Students have been programmed to believe that virtually any mention of a person’s ethnicity, nationality, color, sexual-preference or religion is “racist”.  But that’s just not true.  Webster’s defines racism as “a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capabilities, and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race.”  The excessive insistence on political correctness in our society has had the unfortunate side-effect of making people, especially youngsters, see “racism” in lots of places where in reality it does not exist. 

Saying something about “that black dude” or “a Mexican girl” or “this Jewish guy” is no more racist than referring to “that skinny white kid” or that “tall blonde chick”.  Those terms (Mexican, skinny, etc.) are simply adjectives that help identify someone.  Unless there’s some additional comment or intimation that the black guy or Jewish gal or white dude is inferior or superior to anyone else, there’s no racism going on.  Nor does saying that Mexicans eat a lot of tortillas, Jews eat matzo, Chinese-Americans put a lot of pressure on their kids to do well in school, blacks experience higher rates of MS, or white folks generally have finer (thinner) hair.  These are verifiable facts, not judgments, and by themselves imply nothing about inferiority or superiority. 

Anyone who knows me knows how much I love the Mexican people and their culture, that my best friend at school is a black guy, and that I love my Jewish heritage, etc.  So when I refer to those groups of people, racism isn’t even in the back of my mind.  Yet I freely use those kinds of descriptors, or claims, knowing that they might shock and even offend some people.  Why?

Well, part of it is my mischievous nature; a willingness to stir things up a bit.  But much more importantly, as a teacher, I’d like students to be more realistic in their attitudes about racism and discrimination.  I want to present another model, a more correct understanding if you will, of political correctness to counter the misinformation they’re getting in our liberal educational system. 

It’s just plain wrong that Mexican, Jew, gay, black, Asian, and similar terms are viewed as being negative.  I’m proud of being (ethnically) Jewish, and I think Mexicans and blacks and gays and whatnot ought to be proud of who they are.  There’s nothing wrong with being “a Jew”, and I don’t like people implying that it’s an insult.  The same goes for the rest of them; Mexican isn’t be a bad word, nor is black or Asian or whatever.  Those who think they are bad words, insults, examples of racism – the problem is on their end and how they perceive those terms, and maybe they need to reevaluate their own motives. 

Then there’s the story of Yi Qiu, a student of mine several years ago who had just moved here from China.  Now part of my playful nature is that I’ll sometimes use a British or French or other accent when talking about people from those countries.  And mostly the kids love it - Yi Qiu especially.  One day as we were reading from the history book he said “Mr. Strebler, do the accents!”  And so I started reading with a German accent, then Russian, then Irish, and Yi Qiu was cracking up; “that’s so funny, Mr. Strebler!”  Then I did a bit of a Chinese accent and all of a sudden “That’s not funny, Mr. Strebler; that’s racist”, Yi Qiu said in all seriousness.  He was very offended.  So what’s going on there?

Why is it OK to have some fun with an Australian or Italian or Southern accent, but it’s not OK to do an Asian accent?  Well, part of it goes back to the idea of perception.  If he, or someone else, perceives that they’re being put down, then they’re going to see an accent or a comment as being racist – even when it’s not.  And of course there is the fact that Asians (and Latinos, and blacks, etc.) have been discriminated against in the past, and it’s still sort of a sore subject with many of those folks. 

It’s OK - healthy - I would suggest, to talk about one another’s ethnicity and whatnot, and even to have a bit of fun with it all.  So I’ll keep up with my silly accents, and keep making fun of myself and the stereotypes of old white guys as much as I sometimes make fun of the stereotypes of other groups.  That may be irreverent; it may be insensitive at times (and I’m sorry when it is); it may even be inappropriate for a classroom teacher – we can have a spirited debate over those claims.  But what it is not, is racism.

I always look forward to meeting parents at Open House, but will have to miss this one. There are some serious health issues with both my mom and my sister in Washington state, and I'm going to have to miss all of next week, as well as this Friday, to help out. 

Letters are going home to parents, explaining this.  There's a place on the letters for them to request a conference when I return, and also the hand-out that I normally distribute at Open House.  So I hope my absence from that event isn't too much of a problem.

But it is what it is, and I hope everyone understands. 

I was asked to introduce our new principal at last Thursday's BBQ/potluck, and unfortunately my comments caused quite a stir among some of those present.  Inappropriate, insulting, even rude - those were what some thought.  So allow me to respond to those concerns.

First, almost as soon as I stepped down after speaking, I thought to myself "Gee, that didnt quite come out as I had intended."  My intention was to acknowledge that many students, staff, and parents (who organized the activity, after all) were still upset about how our very popular and effective former principal was summarily removed by the district, despite extensive protests against that action.  I also wanted to acknowledge that many of those same people remain suspicious about the district's ultimate plans for our school, and therefore are somewhat uncertain as to what to expect from Dr. Garcia.  I felt it was important to acknowledge these feelings as a necessary step towards moving forward.

But I then tried to make it clear that Dr. Garica had nothing to do with Dr. Ankeney's removal, that we shouldn't blame her for any of it, and that we should all give her the benefit of the doubt in terms of her own intentions and plans for IS.  I wanted to say that she seemed to be a good person, with an amazing background, and was well-qualified for the position.  Therefore, I said, we should all work with her to ensure that she comes to love IS as much as we do. 

That part didn't seem to come through very clearly; I suppose some folks were still focused on the negative memories and doubts brought up in the first part of my comments, and kind of missed my overall point at the end.  The fact is that I often write and speak in this fashion:  Starting with one way of looking at things, but then finishing with the other side, which is usually my own opinion or the overall point I'd like people to walk away with.  Sometimes people don't really "get" that approach, and then again sometimes I don't do a good job of presenting it; either way, some people ended up confused about what I was really trying to get across.

I don't think I was insulting or rude.  While I mentioned some things people were concerned she might do or represent, I didn't accuse Dr. Garcia of anything; I didn't blame her for anything; I didn't call her any bad names.  But I agree that my comments were somewhat inappropriate as  1) they were too easily mis-interpreted by the audience, and  2) I did not focus enough on the positives of having Dr. Garica join IS.  Some things came out more negatively than I had intended, and I forgot to mention some of the positives that I had planned to say.  Dr. Garcia didn't get the warm welcome that she deserved and that the parent group had wanted.  So yeah, I would've liked to have a "do over" on that whole thing. 

I almost immediately apologized to Dr. Garcia for any wrong impression my comments might have given, and clarified what they were intended to do.  And so here I am clarifying and apologizing to everyone else. 

Just to be sure:  Dr. Garcia seems to be a genuinely nice person.  She has an amazing and admirable personal history, and seems to be well-qualified to lead our school.  We cannot, after all, truly know what conflicts might arise between what she wants to do for the school and any plans the district has in that regard - but she deserves the benefit of the doubt and our full support.  As much as we all loved Dr. Ankeney and think he got a raw deal, I, for one, am happy to see this young, fresh, passionate new leader at our school.