Little Red School House
and Elisabeth Irwin High School

A Pre-K-12 Progressive Education

Our Mission in Action

#ItHappensHere

High School Principal MicahDov Gottlieb
Yesterday was our third annual day dedicated to student led conversations about diversity in the high school. The student organizers, with the support Chap and Ileana, decided that we should no longer be calling it “Diversity Day” because, as they said, “we feel that the word “diversity” does not do justice to the kind of work we want to do as a community to address systems of oppression such as racism, sexism, classism, homophobia, transphobia, xenophobia, and religious-based bigotry. We believe that the first step in fighting systems of oppression is acknowledging that “It happens here!” Acknowledging how we influence and perpetuate these systems in our everyday lives at school and at home is the foundation for doing this work together as a community. During our time here at LREI, we tend to hide behind the facade of the school’s progressive mission. However, being progressive is not enough. We need to break this “bubble” that we are a part of and examine how these systems affect us all. We want to acknowledge these systems and create solutions that make LREI a place of true social justice and liberation.” The students also asked to have teachers be a part of this day, as both participants and leaders, and it was wonderful to have this day all together. 
 
The day began with student organizers Stephanie and Lutfah, both Seniors, framing the day along with Randy Clancy a trainer from Border Crossers and co-founder of the Carle Institute. We were fortunate to have her as a guest facilitator and to lead some important discussions. For the rest of the morning, students and faculty offered a series of workshops for the rest of the high school community (this dynamic and impressive list of offerings is listed below). During lunch, students came together by grade to hear more from Randy, before breaking into affinity groups to watch and discuss a film. We closed the day all together in the PAC. The day wrapped up with the student organizers wishing that the younger grades would carry the torch of this work and that, “we hope everyone learned something new, something different.”
 
We spoke with Lutfah and Stephanie and asked them to reflect on this day that they worked so hard to plan and organize. They thought it went really well, and that, “although not everyone agrees, it’s important to have these conversations as a school, and it is a real learning opportunity. Especially with the political climate, it’s important to have this day, because it provides people with an opportunity to talk about topics that relate to the election and presidency.”
 
I hope you will ask your students about their experience, and the workshops they participated in. What did they learned about themselves, their school, and our society? What issues around Social Justice, Systems of Oppression, and Equity resonated with them? What will they do to continue learning and growing, and how can we (both at home and in school) support that?
 
I am truly grateful for all the students and faculty who led workshops, for Margaret Paul who handled the logistics, Ileana and Chap for their time, energy, and expertise, and Lutfah and Stephanie for their vision and organization. Ileana shared that this day, “moved everyone into a space of truth-telling that was real and honest while also being loving and compassionate towards each other.” I can't think of a better outcome!

 
#ItHappensHere Workshops 2017
 
TWO-HOUR SESSIONS 
 
Whatever Happened to 40 Acres & a Mule: The Institutional and Social Effects of Classism 
Labeebah Subair, Kalli Jackson, Ellana Lawrence, Loveday Trumbull (2 hours)
At LREI, we rarely discuss socio-economic class from an intersectional perspective, and the ways in which it affects minority students. In this workshop, we will begin by explaining the ways in which classism is propelled by other systems of oppression. Students will participate in four different activities in order to make the topics discussed more visible to them, and will also reflect on these topics in an activist-oriented manner.

Sexual Harassment: #ItHappensHere
Ileana Jiménez 
Sexual harassment happens at LREI. So what do we do about it? This two-hour workshop will focus on creating a plan of action around addressing sexual harassment at our school. During the first hour, we will engage in a series of activities that will help us understand consent, coercion, and harassment. During the second hour, we will work collaboratively on creating a video, letter, or vision statement that addresses how we want to make LREI a respectful space free of harassment and violence for all students, especially those who are the most marginalized based on race, class, gender, and sexuality.

"Cracking the Code": The System of Racial Inequity 
Peggy Peloquin (2 hours)
We will watch a film that will help us name, understand, and explore the complex components that comprise the interconnected nature of of racial issues. We will then work to increase confidence within learning groups and communities to identify cumulative racialized outcomes that are the result of hidden structures.

Decoding Race, Class, and Privilege in South Asia Through Cinema 
Vinay Chowdhry (2 hours)
We will screen my feature length documentary and discuss how identity politics manifest in South Asia. The film examines standards of beauty in Bollywood, which is a mirror for South Asia. The goal is for students to see how similar frameworks exist globally and to understand how structural oppression works.  

Microaggressions: How to Respectfully Challenge Ourselves and Others
Randi Reinhold and Chap (2 hours)
Dr. Sue defines microaggressions as “the everyday verbal, nonverbal, and environmental slights, snubs, or insults, whether intentional or unintentional, which communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative messages to target persons based solely upon their marginalized group membership.” How do student and adult members of such marginalized groups shield themselves from these remarks and educate others about the damage of microaggressions based on race, gender and sexuality? Students and adults will work in small groups, share within the larger group, and come to a better understanding of how to recuperate from microaggressions and/or how best to address them when they occur. This workshop is open to students and adults of color, varied gender identities, and allies.

Judaism and Racial Justice 
Heather Brubaker and Repair the World (2 hours)
Participants will engage in exploring Jewish identity as it relates to racial justice through three central topics. First, what does it mean to "be Jewish" today? How does Jewish identity relate to race? Second, what does anti-Semitism look like today? How is it related to racism and the rise of white nationalism today? Finally, what frameworks and opportunities do Jewish ethical thought and community organizations offer for participating in the fight for racial justice?  

55 MINUTE SESSIONS

Lost in "Trans"-lation: Transgender Portrayals in Cisgender Media
Emily Lu and Gelles Russell-Davidson (55 minutes)
We will examine the ways in which transgender characters are portrayed in the media, including who plays trans characters, which portrayals perpetuate stereotypes, and what plot lines they are most often involved in. We want to discuss how these portrayals feed into a wider societal misconception of trans identity and trans experiences, and try to be solution-based by finishing our conversation with ways in which to bring these discussions into more prominence at LREI.

Man Up...Down or Across: Exploring Masculinity at LREI and Beyond 
Arturo Acevedo and Chris Keimig (55 minutes)
This workshop is open only to students who are male-identified. It aims to explore society's ideas about masculinity and the ways in which these ideas limit or constrain our freedom to define ourselves. What do we mean when we tell someone to "man up" or "be a man"? Where do these ideas come from? What is toxic masculinity and how does it differ from other representations of masculinity? How can we be our most authentic selves in a society that has a narrow definition of masculinity?

Well-Meaning White Liberals 
Sadie Stern and Lauren Davidson (55 minutes)
Where is the line between being an ally and an oppressor? In this workshop, we will be examining the effects of the words and actions of white liberals in this country and in this school. We will work to understand how the voices of white progressives both add and detract from political conversations and movements. We will have discussions about incidences of white progressives overstepping boundaries, especially when they allow their voice to monopolize conversations concerning marginalized groups. We will also discuss alternative avenues for activism.

Exploring Internalized Oppression
Sophia Stewart-Chapman and Eve van Rens (55 minutes)
Our workshop will explore how internalized racism and sexism affects students at LREI. Internalized oppression is the process by which a member of an oppressed group internalizes and/or perpetuates the negative stereotypes applied to their group. While this workshop will focus on internalized racism and sexism, we will also discuss other forms of internalized oppression and how they relate. Participants will learn about this issue in our society and the ways in which it's apparent even at our school. We want to start a conversation about this form of oppression that is not often acknowledged and hear what students have to say.   

#gotprivilege
Carson Rice and Semiramis Sophroniou (55 minutes)
In this workshop, we will be discussing the idea of white privilege and how white people can learn to address privilege. White fragility is a byproduct of privilege that is not acknowledged, especially within liberal communities such as LREI. This refusal to acknowledge the privilege we have allows for the creation and cultivation of our own privilege and fragility around that privilege. Through this conversation, we will begin to dismantle the fear around our privilege through addressing how through social trends like being ‘color blind’ and #AllLivesMatter actually cause white liberals to do more harm than good. Our workshop will be discussion based, so we plan on addressing #AllLivesMatter versus #BlackLivesMatter which will allow us to transition into a discussion about white liberals, white fragility, and how these ideas play out within the LREI community.

Walk It Out! 
Preethi McKnight-Thomas (55 minutes)
Privilege is complicated! The privileges we have are are sometimes taken for granted or are not always noticed. In this workshop we will discuss our various privileges and engage in an experiential activity to highlight how people benefit or are marginalized by systems in our society (and at LREI). By engaging in this activity, you will be able to look at how many of your identities relate to many possible interrelated systems of power as well as systems of discrimination and marginalization.  

#GETIN*FORMATION* 
Ta'Shea Parham and Jonathan Hodge (55 minutes)
In this workshop, we will be exploring the ways in which Black women, women of color, and women in general are treated in the media. The current President brought to light many troubling issues women face in our society with his many inappropriate remarks; however, none of this is new. Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and other forms of social media have been used by many to insult and harass women of color for so long that it has become almost routine to scroll past it everyday. During our session, we will explore the roots of how this came to be, brainstorm solutions on how we can make social media safer for all women, and reflect on how some of our own actions have contributed to the problem.

Colorism: More Than Just Black and White
Isiah Rosa and Sofia Santoro (55 minutes)
Our workshop will discuss colorism among several different racial and ethnic identities such as Black, White, Latinx, and Asian communities. We plan to gain a deeper knowledge of colorism and how it affects us on a daily basis, as well as how to combat it within the LREI community.

Hair and Cultural Appropriation 
Gisell Rondon, Nasly Tineo, Jordana Castro and Jessica Speight (55 minutes)
Our workshop will analyze how hair plays a role in an individual’s identity and how it has intersected with cultural appropriation in our society today. We will create a space for individuals to share their experiences with cultural appropriation while also taking time to analyze how the media has normalized cultural appropriation. Our workshop will discuss how the culture of hair has been stolen from many cultures and worn by people from outside the culture. We will explore the idea of how hair is not just hair, it is an expression of one’s culture and holds much more meaning than just hair trends.

Lenses of Adoption 
Lindsay Seitz and Tom Murphy (55 minutes)
Adoption is a hidden identity, and often is a mystery to people because of its common misconceptions. Adoption is a process when someone takes the responsibility of parenting another, usually a small child, from that person’s biological or legal parent(s), and permanently assume all rights and responsibilities from the biological parents. Adoption, particularly adoptive families of same race/ethnic backgrounds, is a type of identity that can be invisible. Without meeting the whole family or being told explicitly that they are not related, you would never know how that person’s family was formed. In this workshop, mostly discussion based, we will talk about adoption, how it is a more unnoticed/unseen identity, try to uncover the “mystery” behind it, and more. This session is open to anyone interested in adoption--whether you are an adoptee, have friends who are adopted, have never heard of adoption until you just read this, or just want to add to the conversation.

Redress of Grievances
Ann Carroll and Jack Cameron (55 minutes)
This workshop will not be a discussion of systemic oppression and marginalization, but rather a practical approach addressing specific ways to take action on behalf of justice for all, both inside, and beyond, the LREI community. There are ways for students’ voices to be heard in the existing political system. We will explore who to contact, how, the most effective language to use, how to effectively use the media, and impactful ways to  engage in public forums. We will identify public interests and lobbying groups that pursue social justice agendas in the areas of civil rights, LGBTQ+ rights, civil liberties, immigration justice, and women’s rights.  We will also provide resources for remaining informed.



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