I was going to write about the complete mess the East Ramapo school district seems to be. Clearly, a beautiful example of where democracy isn’t working for all students.
I was going to write about how students should be valued, and that when kids shout things like “I am a student here! You need to listen to me!” (Glass & White, 2014), it’s important for us adults to engage, listen, and take immediate action (ELCC 6.2) (National Policy Board For Educational Administration (NPBEA), 2011).
But I won’t. I’d like to share a personal story instead.
Messages of change seem to travel best horizontally. That is, from person to person, next door, or across the hall. Rarely does change happen top-down, unless followed by harsh threats of punishment or disincentives for non-compliance. Sharing in our social justice journey is no different.
I find that I have become much more aware of issues outside of my zone of understanding. Issues like race, LGBTIQ, women’s rights – all issues I knew of, but wasn’t aware of. I have had eye-opening conversations over the past few weeks with colleagues and friends around issues I had never thought much about. I’ll share one particular example – trail running.
As a white male, 6’1” tall, about 185 lbs. on a good day, and able to handle myself, I have never once thought any different about running by myself in the woods. Alone. Often in the dark. Far from the trail head. At least 20 minutes from a road. Until I sat down with Monica, one of our school counselors.
Monica, a much faster runner than I, and able to go even farther, never runs trail. Why? Because she’s a woman. No other particular reason. And I had never thought about that before. Not because I’m not sensitive to that, but rather the topic had never entered my mind.
Monica and I talked about what it was like for her to run, also often by herself, in the dark, except that she sticks to the streets, with lights, and available escape routes.
A whole sport (of trail running) is off limits to Monica because the fear of being attacked while running is greater than the risk willing to chance it. I asked if she runs with pepper spray, or other devices, and she shared she’d considered it, but better to just run the streets. Or the treadmill.
A woman in Washington, D.C. was recently attacked when, out jogging in the morning, “she was stopped at the corner of 11th Street and P Street, waiting to cross the intersection, when she was stabbed” (ABC7 NEWS, 2018).
My moment with Monica made me realize, and appreciate at a deeper level, a whole different point of view (ELCC 5.2, 5.3) (National Policy Board For Educational Administration (NPBEA), 2011). And this, I believe, is the power of social justice activism. Being able to connect, one person at a time, with important topics of struggle, inequity, racism, sexism, gender inequalities – this is how change happens. Making social justice personal is the only way to make change happen.
Top-down, mandated, and often pseudo-managed change initiatives likely fail due to lack of personal touch. “Did it happen to you? No… some other person, in a few states over… probably nothing to worry about, but here’s a new policy…” But to me, Monica is real. I work with her every day. I am now invested in her. And her safety. Now, when I’m on the trail, I think of how she can’t. I think about what I can do to make it happen.
Sometimes we run together. But running is a solo sport (for most of us), and while running together a few times is a super feeling, our difference in pace comes in the way of true enjoyment. I treasure trail conversations, but ultimately prefer my alone time. Many other runners feel the same way. So how do we change the sport of trail running, and the world, to become more inclusive?
One person at a time. And maybe, one day, Monica doesn’t have to avoid the trail in the early mornings just because she’s her.
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ABC7 NEWS. (2018). Manhunt underway after woman stabbed to death while jogging near Logan Circle. Retrieved from https://wjla.com/news/local/woman-stabbed-in-logan-circle
Glass, I., & White, S. (2014). 534 : A Not-So-Simple Majority Prologue. Retrieved from https://www.thisamericanlife.org/534/transcript
National Policy Board For Educational Administration (NPBEA). (2011). Educational Leadership Program Standards: 2011 ELCC District Level, 1–84. https://doi.org/10.1002/ace.7401