Courtesy of IMDb

Last night, CJ, my 7 year old daughter, asked if she could get a spiked dog collar. To wear.  On her own neck.  For the first day of school.

My first response, was, “What?  Why?”  as I had flashbacks of my own teen years, vacillating between heavy metal and emo, and all the lost angst I personally felt manifesting itself in my 7 year old baby girl. I thought I had time before this style (although I love it) piqued her interest.

She answers, beaming from ear to ear.  ”Because, I want to be like Abby from NCIS.” (Before I get lectures on letting her watch NCIS, she has only caught parts of the show here and there during times I have watched it and I considered the material she saw acceptable.)

She added,  ”She is awesome.  She’s really smart, and is a great scientist.  Without her, the team would never have answers to their questions. ”

And then my heart filled with joy.

You see, Abby is a forensic scientist that does it all.  She is a non-stereotypical scientist in that she is covered in tats, wears all black, sleeps in a coffin, and wears a dog collar.  She is brilliant, quirky, strong, loving, fiercely happy, loyal, and a fantastic scientist.  She kicks some serious butt on all fronts and has a fun style.  She is a great role model for girls.

You see, I worry about the message that young girls get about being smart, working hard, and finding  joy and passion in their lives.  Just google JCPenney “Too Pretty to Do Homework” t-shirt, and you can see exactly what I mean.  It is just one of several “sassy” girl t-shirts suggesting girls have little time for school.  This “Too cool, too pretty, too popular” to bother with school permeates the culture.  Recent studies have suggested that girls still steer clear of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) interests and that the overall percentage of women in these careers has not changed much in the last 10 to 20 years.  While I cultivate all of my daughters interests, I make sure that she knows that women can be mathematicians, engineers and scientists.  I teach her science, refuse to dumb it down for her, and teach her of the joys in discovery.  I always hoped that she got the message.  It seems that she has.

She wants to be like  Abby when she grows up.  She wants to dress like her, have fun like her, have great friends like her,  find the answers, make discoveries,  and use the “cool equipment.”   And for that, I couldn’t be happier.

I wish that all girls, nay, all students,  can find that joy and passion in STEM without fear of making mistakes, without thinking that it is only for “nerds”.

So, my next action?   Getting back to grad school, then enacting a rather elaborate plan I have been thinking about for months, reaching more students and teachers, hopefully changing the face of education.

Oh, and maybe, just maybe, consider getting that dog collar for CJ. Not to wear (yet), but as a reminder of a great character role model.

Women's Suffrage March: March 3, 1913. Photo courtesy of the US. Library of Congress

There was a time when voting  was considered a radical act, when the suffragists marched, demanding that they had their own voice, that they were able to speak for themselves.  There was a time when women walked to that ballot box, slipped in their ballot, BEAMING that they stood for their own convictions, that they were able to choose for themselves.

That time is no longer.

Voting has normalized.  We walk up to the election officials, we hand over our id’s, we enter the ballot box and we do what we do.  We vote.  There is nothing radical about it.  It is our civic duty.  We simply walk up to the ballot box and choose.  I am so grateful that we no longer have to fight that fight, so happy that it is no longer considered  radical act to vote.

Except the majority of us have become complacent. The majority of us take that earned right for granted. There is the  cacophony of voices and 24 hour news cycle and negativity and  distrust.  And we have simply given up and given in.

We have given in to the notion that we lose no matter for whom we vote.  We have given in to the idea that votes are bought and sold to the highest bidder.  We have resigned ourselves to the idea that we are at war with ourselves and we best stand out of the crossfire.

So, we sit back, check out of the process.  We don’t vote, we don’t write or meet with our congressmen and women.  We don’t use our power to make a difference in what we don’t like.

OUR power.  The constitution of the United States gives the power to the people.  It gives us the power to vote and choose.  It states that the representatives of the United States represent US.  We have let the voices of the few speak for the voices of the many.  We have the power to take that back.

We vote.

We talk.

We write.

We act.

We hold the representatives accountable to their constituents, not to whom  they have in their pocket.

This may seem idealistic.  This may seem like fighting a losing battle.  This may seem unicorns and rainbows and pots of gold.  But, I assure you, it is not. It is hard work, and determination, and working together for a change. If we don’t start, we will never make inroads, and things will remain the same.

And we can not afford that.

So today, take it back.  Take back that once radical act, and start the change. Use your voice. Use your power.

Vote.

Today the Wake County School Board in Raleigh, NC  will meet.  Today, the school board will further discuss their plans to redistrict the schools, effectively ending a decade-long policy aimed at creating socio-economic diversity in Wake County Schools.  Today, thousands will meet in downtown Raleigh to protest this decision, this decision that has been described by Claude Pope, chairman of the Wake County Republican Party, as a “mandate” by voters. The school board argues in favor of neighborhood schools and to end busing of students to create economically diverse schools.  They argue that this will make schools stronger, communities stronger, and is more convenient for parents.   Protesters argue that this is re-segregation, that those from poorer neighborhoods will  end up in faltering schools,  that many magnet schools will lose their funding.

Today, as a former high school teacher in Wake County Schools, and a firm believer that ALL students deserve the best that we can give them,  I wish I was at that protest.

I am not going to go into what the empirical data in test scores state about the diversity policy, as I will fervently argue that test scores tell very little about actual learning (although right now, before changes are in effect,  these test scores are showing a closing of the achievement gap across all economic situations and races).  I am not going to go into whether or not this policy is a form of racism.  What I am going to tell you is about my own experience as a teacher in Wake County Schools.  I will tell you about the  “evidence” I collected as teacher, the evidence that this diversity policy works.

I served as a  teacher at Sanderson High School in Wake County for three years, between the years 2002-2005. I served as co-advisor for class council.  I tutored and performed workshops for teachers.  I was highly vested in the school and the students. Most teachers I know in this school are highly dedicated to providing the best education for the students. Sanderson High School is in North Raleigh.  The current statistics of the school are diverse, with minorities making up over 46% of the population.  Over one-hundred students are Limited English Proficient.  I could not find any current information on how many students qualify for the free and reduced lunch program, however, if I am recalling this correctly, approximately 20% qualified for the program. The population was diverse, the challenges of differentiating, many.  However, in my experience, the diversity of the school was one of its great strengths.

Never in my time in Sanderson did I “dumb” down the curriculum for students.  I differentiated instruction and made sure that all students were learning to the best of their ability, that all students were challenged.  Was it difficult?  Of course.  But I would not accept excuses from myself or my students.  Many other teachers wouldn’t either.  Our job was to educate all the students, make sure all student had comprehension of the material, challenge all the students.  Can these things happen in neighborhood schools as well, demanding the best from all?  Potentially.  But……

Poverty is a difficult thing.  People who have lived poverty, worked with people in poverty, taught in poverty know that it is a strange and difficult state of being.  It truly gets in your psyche, changes communities, changes thought process, gives a sense of fear, a sense of loyalty and place.  I will give you an example.  I had this student at Sanderson.  He was intelligent.  He was crazy intelligent.  He had a good head on his shoulders, common sense, and the ability to succeed, if only he tried.  He also came from poverty.  One day, after earning a D on an exam, I pulled him aside after class.  I asked him, “What happened?  I know that you know this information.  What is the problem? Is there something going on I can help you with?”

He looked me straight in the eye.  His response took the wind out of me.

“Ms. Fiore, I can’t do well.   I’d be disrespecting the block. You don’t know where I come from.”

I think I paused, took a deep breath, and blinked 10 times before I answered.

“D—–, you are right.  I can’t know. But let me ask you, is this your block?  When you are here, in this school, in this classroom, you are not on the block.  You are on my block.  And here, on my block, you only have to worry about one thing, disrespecting yourself.  You are a smart kid, with real potential. You need to honor that. Many people here and at home, are working to give you opportunities.  Respect them, and yourself, and grab those opportunities.”

I challenged him.

I gave him the permission to succeed.

He left my class with an B+ average.

He is just one example of many that did better, learned more than they would have if they were in a school where the majority of kids lived in poverty, where resources were scarce,  where there was a high teacher turn-over rate due to burnout, and where there is  a constant reminder of who they might be disrespecting on the block.  It is a dramatic example, but an example nonetheless.  As teachers, we were all afforded a safe place where kids had the permission to succeed.  The Wake County diversity policy, by my own estimation and experiences, worked beautifully.  It took kids from poor neighborhoods and gave them a fighting chance.  It provided teachers with enough support that they would not face burnout from dealing with many of the issues surrounding schools of poverty. It provided a situation where a sense of despair was eased, where the sense of entitlement taken down a few notches.

Today, it has been taken away. Wake County is set to go back to neighborhood schools where there will be schools that will close, schools that will have a 90% or greater poverty level,  and where magnet schools will be in jeopardy of losing their funding.  There will be schools that will lack resources and a stable teaching staff.

More students will be lost in the system. We will fail them.

And for what?  For parent convenience even if that means a drop in student achievement?  For politics?  For the supposed “strengthening of neighborhoods”?  Is there empirical evidence that supports that?

Today, even though I cannot be there, fighting alongside the community, fighting alongside teachers and adminsitrators that know that this is a bad idea, I lend my voice.  I urge Wake County parents, teachers, students, and voters to stand up and not stand for this repeal.  I urge you to stand up and fight for all students, to give all of the students a chance.

I am standing here with you.

From left to right: Corina Fiore, Ilina Ewen, Caroline Jorgenson, and Joanne Bamberger. These women inspire me to want to be better, do better.

She Acts  is the brainchild of  blogging conference I attended last year.  I attended a session on political blogging with Joanne Bamberger of Pundit Mom.  The session was small, only a select handful of women attending as the idea of political blogging sparks FEAR in many female bloggers.  However, the session was poignant, inspiring, and interesting.  We spoke about getting involved in the political process, about working in our communities, about overcoming fear of expressing opinion. At the time, the political debates on healthcare and the economy were ramping up, our nation become even more deeply divided.  And yet, here we were, a handful of politically minded concerned women, ready to jump into the “big P” and “little P” arena, ignoring the fray, and make a difference in our own communities, ready to inspire thought and discussion.  We discussed the writing process, research, and why we write.  Then, we talked about something even more important: the ability to go from word to action.

Action.

Our communities, our lives are ours to shape.  Each of us has the power to make a difference.  Small actions add up, changing one person, one aspect of our community at a time.  Big actions involve many, creating change through grand sweeping gestures.  Both are needed, necessary for communities to thrive.  Words. They matter.  Actions matter more.

I used to be quite involved in my community, either by mentoring my students in the Earth Group, Student Government and Amnesty International , or through working with groups like Special Olympics, Free Burma, and various AIDS organizations.  However, through a series of  long distance moves, and a few pregnancies, I found myself without a community to call my own and a busy life as a mother.  I still held very strong opinions that I was more  than happy to share, but I was no longer working  towards making a difference.  This site is as much as an inspiration as me finding my way back to community building and political action.

She Acts  is not  site to toot my own horn about things that I will be doing.  Quite the contrary.  She Acts is  about my journey back to action.  It will also highlight fantastic women and men, mothers and fathers, making a  difference, in their own communities.  I intend She Acts will provide  inspiration, help, guidance, and community to all women and men who wish to act in their communities.  It is a place for all to get together and share their stories about hope, change, and growth.

It is my hope that you find a home here.

Corina Fiore

She Acts