Bending The Arc

A Social Justice Newsletter for Educators Bending The Arc is 5 years old! One of the commitments I’m making to myself in middle age is to celebrate freely and often. So here I go: The fact that this little-publication-that-could continues to develop and find readers across continents and disciplines remains a source of marvel and…

A Social Justice Newsletter for Educators Well, hello there! Happy August, friends! I hope you are well and thriving wherever you are in your particular cycle of teaching and learning, working and recovering. For many of us, the start of a new school year is right around the corner. I’m in my final days of…

A Social Justice Newsletter for Educators Summer is here (at least where I am)! I drafted a version of this newsletter over a week ago. When I revisited it, I decided to start over. The contrast between my thinking then and now is too great. New information has given me pause. Things I’ve heard, seen…

A Social Justice Newsletter for Educators When state actors refer to “peace,” they are really talking about order. And when they refer to “peaceful protest,” they are talking about cooperative protest that obediently stays within the lines drawn by the state. The more uncooperative you are, the more you will be accused of aggression and…

A Social Justice Newsletter for Educators Whether you believe in flying saucers or the free market or just about anything else, you are (if you are human) prone to using certainty to avoid facing up to the fact that you could be wrong. That’s why, when we feel ourselves losing ground in a fight, we…

A Social Justice Newsletter for Educators Welcome, March! The sun is out, the temperatures are milder. Even if I know it can all change overnight, I’m grateful for hints of spring. Flowers are popping out of their winter beds, more cyclists take to the roads on the weekend; it’s 5pm and there’s still plenty of…

A Social Justice Newsletter for Educators It’s Black History Month, but I don’t need to remind you, right? Greetings all, Happy Black History Month to all who celebrate! Something that always comes up for me during this time dedicated to African-American History is how big my own gaps are. By now I know enough names…

A Social Justice Newsletter for Educators Begin Here. That’s what “New Year” suggests: starting again, starting over, starting anew. For most folks connected to any kind of learning establishment in the Northern Hemisphere, however, January means that we’re quite in the thick of the school year. Nearing the end of our extended winter holiday break,…

A Social Justice Newsletter for Educators “I think there is so much love built right into the ordinary things, the things we rarely stop to consider. It doesn’t have to be a grandfather, or a parent, or a friend, or a partner. So many of the things I enjoy and find value in exist because…

A Social Justice Newsletter for Educators Dear friends, I hope this message finds you in a season of abundance and gratitude. In my own life currently I am experiencing both of those alongside a string of other states: vulnerability, disappointment, grief and resentment. There, I said it. Something I am learning through the lessons of…