Blue+Indigo: Upper School Band Swap Week 3
Oh Hey, Indigo Band!It was week 3 of Upper School Band Swap, I had a great week hanging out with you. We talked about so many unexpected things and in such deep and productive ways. In fact, Wednesday was the best day ever. For realz. No joke. Seriously.
Let me tell you why Wednesday was the best day ever.During the Band Swap, on every Wednesday (#hellagayday) I have been doing a 90 minute crash course in same sex marriage history. Starting in 1962 with the first state to legalize homosexual acts in private, I try to demonstrate how state laws effect federal laws, how federal laws blockade progress and how state in turn find ways around the blockades. Using the lens of same sex marriage is just a tactic to help explain all of these other really complicated inner workings of the US government and legal system. This content is just a way for us to talk about how laws shape humanity, and how humanity sometimes fights back.This past #hellagayday started much like the others. I drew my timeline on the board, we watched a video, and chatted. And then something unexpected and magical happened -- all of these simple historical provocations sparked all of these other things for the Band. And suddenly, we went from talking about Gavin Newsom's political stunt in 2004 to talking about polygamy, to talking about trans rights, to talking about gender as a spectrum, to talking about sex as a spectrum, to talking about what happens if a baby is born with both sets of genitals.Indigo, you had serious, thoughtful, complicated, and beautiful questions about what it means to be human in 2016. We had in depth, critical, and respectful conversation about all of these things (and more). This is what it means to be an educator at this school: having the freedom to productively tangent, explore ideas, be flexible and excited, and above everything, be genuinely interested.I could have continued this conversation for an additional 90 minutes. I could have been sitting in a college classroom. I could have been chatting with a group of friends on a Saturday night.So, heartemojis to you, Indigo!
Meanwhile, the rest of the week was an interesting lesson (for me!) in what it means to be a teen human in 2016:Did you know that pretty advanced technology is just a simple part of every life for these humans?No big deal. It's totally normal to video conference an assessment meeting, or to record yourself doing your homework assignment, upload it to YouTube, and then embed it into a Google Slides presentation for when you're absent.
Also, safety has been an interesting topic of conversation this week.I spent the week wearing safety goggles because in a fit of excitement, a pencil was thrown in during the morning check in. This has sparked all sorts of conversation, including what it means to "consent" to something, how tools can be used inappropriately as weapons, and also the difference between play and fighting and what can happen when the lines are blurred.
And this happened:
Also, as uncool as they sometimes might pretend it is, our penpals are on our minds.Blue is having some pretty interesting conversations with their mystery East Bay friends. Some folks are writing under pseudonyms and presenting them fictional stories, while others are asking some intriguing questions. It's rumored that our friends in Oakland are interested in having a picnic with Blue, and we are working out the details.
With that, here's to another week!Band Swap rotates me back with Blue this week, so it'll be interesting to close out this curriculum with some familiar faces.