chaotic-weevil

[chaotic-weevil]

oooooo i really love this, saving!

Worldwide Story Structures

Because there are more continents on the planet than Europe. And sometimes we need to escape from such imperialism. Disclaimer: There are missing types from this list. I haven’t found all of them. If you wish to share some you know, I will give you credit. These are just a handful I’ve stumbled across by reading and consuming as widely as possible. I’d love to collect them all.

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[chaotic-weevil]

3 arrested as students walk out over 'I Resolve' reversal

(Daily Courier article on GP school walkout in support of transgender students’ rights, de-paywalled for free access)

By Lauren Bishop and Adam Robertson of the Daily Courier Front Page News Last Update Wednesday, November 17th, 2021

Photos by BEA AHBECK/Daily Courier

Student protesters wave goodbye to an anti-abortion counterprotester after they escorted her down the street and away from Grants Pass High School on Tuesday afternoon. As many as 300 students walked out of class at the high school to protest the Grants Pass School Board's reinstatement of North Middle School assistant principal Rachel Damiano and science teacher Katie Medart.

A week after the Grants Pass School Board voted to reinstate the two "I Resolve" educators, students walked out of school Tuesday to support those whose rights Rachel Damiano and Katie Medart have lobbied against.

Students at Grants Pass High School, Gladiola High School, North Middle School and South Middle School left classes to rally in protest of the school board's reinstatement of Damiano, a North assistant principal, and Medart, a science teacher. Both had been terminated for violating district policies while crafting a video campaign lobbying against the rights of transgender students.

During the protest, police estimated 200 to 300 students and community members gathered outside Grants Pass High School, many wearing purple to show support for people who identify as transgender.

While it started out as peaceful, the demonstration turned raucous when counterprotesters holding signs saying "LGBTQ ... earn death and hell" and opposing abortions arrived.

Demonstrators quickly swarmed the counterprotesters, yelling "Go home" and "No one wants you here," along with some other choice phrases and expletives.

Jim Hamilton, deputy chief of the Grants Pass Police Department, said afterward that he was sitting down with his officers to get a better picture of what took place during the walkout.

"We're going to figure out what happened," he said. "There were people on multiple sides of that thing. It was kind of a mess."

Police released a statement later Tuesday evening that two juveniles and one adult were arrested during the protests.

According to police, a 15-year-old student spit in a man's face who was counterprotesting. The teen was escorted away from the demonstration, with criminal charges pending.

Police said they arrested a 14-year-old student who began swinging a broomstick at the same counterprotester. The student was taken to the juvenile justice center, cited and released to a parent.

A third person, whom police identified as a 19-year-old from Medford, allegedly attempted to prevent officers from arresting the 14-year-old. Police say the protester then attempted to block officers and an officer's vehicle. The teen was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for riot, second-degree disorderly conduct and interfering with police, and was released from custody this morning.

As protesters were being detained, groups of students encircled the police vehicles and at one point locked arms in an attempt to stop a car from driving away.

Walkouts were held at Grants Pass High School, Gladiola High School and North and South middle schools, Grants Pass Superintendent Kirk Kolb said.

Student organizers were up front with the district about plans for the walkout, Kolb said. Many students followed the plan to return to class after 20 minutes of protest, but at about that time, the counterprotesters arrived.

"We were very disappointed in the antagonist protesters from the community that showed up, which incited students to act inappropriately," Kolb said, adding, "It's unfortunate we had a few who felt the need to grandstand or take the stage from our students."

Kolb confirmed that the two juveniles who were detained during the protest were students from Grants Pass High School. He said he is meeting with Police Chief Warren Hensman today to debrief on the walkout.

Protesters at the high school held handmade signs: "Protect Trans Rights" and "Give Us a Vote." Others wore transgender and LGBTQ pride flags around their shoulders or waved them on flagpoles.

Grants Pass freshman Aralyah Bigley and many others cheered as more and more students exited the school building around 1:45 p.m.

"It's screwed up that schools are putting gender identity in front of education," Bigley said. "It's nobody's business but your own."

Damiano and Medart were fired in July after an external investigation conducted by a former Grants Pass police chief found that they violated district policies while creating the video with assistance from Edgewater Christian Fellowship. The video caught the community's attention after it was posted to YouTube over spring break earlier this year.

Their "I Resolve Movement" sought to restrict use of school restrooms to "anatomically male" and "anatomically female," put limits on student name changes, and mandate that neither staff nor classmates had to call transgender students by their preferred names or their preferred pronouns. Medart also was accused of violating a student's confidentiality when she spoke in the video about a student who is transitioning.

After a contentious vote in July to accept district Kolb's recommendation that they be fired, the school board last week voted to reinstate the two educators, though it's not clear if Damiano and Medart will return to their former positions.

Grants Pass High junior Deenie Bulyalert helped organize the walkout at the high school, and began the protest with a few words welcoming the students who chose to support their peers by leaving school.

"For all of the LGBTQ+ students at our school that feel you don't belong, you do," she said into a megaphone at the outset of the walkout.

After the dust-ups between students, counterprotesters and police, Bulyalert said she was speechless, both in a good and bad way.

"This showed students there is a community out there for people, but then ... things got out of hand," Bulyalert said.

Jaycie Smith, a freshman, was near the front of a group of protesters telling the counterprotesters to leave. Smith said students should have a right to be who they are at school and not be in a situation where it may be unsafe.

"We need staff who really care for us," Smith said. "We're just people, students who want an education."

And freshman Hannah Denton Gauss, who identifies as nonbinary, said being safe in school should be a priority.

"It shouldn't be a thing that we're still oppressed," Denton Gauss said. "People say it's 2021, but there hasn't been as much change as there should be."

Skyler Westra, who graduated from Grants Pass High in 2012, said transgender students are often treated with hostility, and schools are one of the last places for them to feel safe and welcomed.

"Letting trans kids and others be accepted wholeheartedly is the true spirit of academia," Westra said. "People coming into schools who are not respecting and accepting of students ... their job is to build people up not break them down."

The scene was more tranquil during the walkout at North Middle School, where Damiano and Medart had worked prior to being put on leave and then terminated. Dozens of students gathered, holding signs and waving flags like their high school counterparts.

North Middle School student Hank Rood said the school board's decision to reverse Damiano and Medart's termination will only hurt students at the school and around the district.

Rood said he believed the "I Resolve Movement" puts transgender students in danger, which could prompt trouble at home and even attempts at self harm.

"The policies that [the educators] are trying to instate are bringing harm to trans youth," Rood said.

He said that if the district cares about its students, the board would reverse its decision to reinstate the educators.

Parents, too, turned out to support the students in their walkout. Analila Rodriguez, who said she was the parent of an LGBTQ student at North Middle School, stayed back from the core protest, but carried a rainbow parasol to show her support.

She said she supports her child's involvement in the walkout and that it's not fair for the school district to employ teachers who have had problems with the LGBTQ community.

"We are in the 21st century, so if you don't have an open mind, I don't know how you can deal with this. And you're a teacher, you went to school to protect those kids," Rodriguez said. "We're all equal, we're all the same; it doesn't matter if you're part of the LGBTQ community. ... In God's eyes we're all the same."

To finish the protest, the middle school students silently circled the North campus.

———

Reach reporter Lauren Bishop at 541-474-3806 or lbishop@thedailycourier.com.

Reach reporter Adam Robertson at 541-474-3813 or arobertson@thedailycourier.com.

[chaotic-weevil]

Judy Ahrens is NOT our friend

So, the May special election is here, and chances are you’re not too worried about it. Most candidates are unopposed, there’s just one or two measures on the ballot, and all the positions seem to be fairly harmless.

Well, this is sadly not the case. Everyone living in the Three Rivers School District area (most of Josephine County except Grants Pass, and parts of Jackson County) gets to vote in one of the most important races for our community.

Likely the only contested race on your ballot, TRSD Board position two has incumbent Danny York going up against a Judy Ahrens.

Mr. York has my vote, and I beg you to give him yours. 

I’m sure you’ll want to know why.... but first, TL;DR:

this is a long post. basically, the gist is that Judy Ahrens is a terrible person and we need to make sure she cannot win this election. If you don’t want to read all my analysis, go ahead and skip to part 4. If you don’t want to read any of it, just go check out her website yourself. Make sure to read her bio page.

With that out of the way, let’s delve in: 

At first glance, Danny York seems the lesser option. York has an extremely brief statement in the voters’ pamphlet, and no college education, while Ahrens boasts an Associates, and has a long, detailed statement. And of course, Ahrens is a woman, and the conventional knowledge is that women are better in leadership positions.

But some parts of Judy Ahrens’ statement rubbed me wrong, so I did some research. And what I found terrified me.

To start, let’s analyze her statement in the voters’ pamphlet. I’ll go section by section and address each of the points.

Dear Voters:

While living in Southern California, I was heavily involved with the PTA, the Eastwood Site Council, and many other activities related to children. Then nine years ago I moved to Josephine County. It’s gorgeous scenery and friendly people still awe me and my passion for providing the best education for our children continues right here.

So far, so good. We learn she has experience with education and leadership positions, and a love for this community. But wait ‘til she gets to her platform:

Why I’m running:

1. To guarantee that Parents’ Rights come first. Parents currently are fighting against a bill in Salem which forces vaccinations on all children attending Oregon public schools. I back these parents 100%.

“Parents’ Rights” is a term you see thrown around here and there. Usually, this means parents’ rights to control the curriculum or content their children are exposed to, or to have medical & bodily control over their kids. And usually it comes from the Christian Right, which I’m a little wary of (that’s the folks with the sin signs that like to go to local events and yell on megaphones about how queer people are going to hell).

In this case, Ahrens is taking the medical side of the Parents’ Rights issue, cleverly appealing to anti-vaxxers on both ends of the political spectrum (the religious my-body-is-my-temple folks and the no-chemicals-for-me hippies alike). However, as we’ll see shortly, she quickly extends this into the more morally concerning social arena.

2. To protect traditional family values which are currently under attack. All sex education materials and instructions should be scrutinized for age appropriateness and content by a committee that includes parents.

Nothing makes this bisexual pro-LGBT-rights guy uncomfortable quite like the phrase “traditional family values.” It might as well be code for “homosexuality is a sin,” and is usually accompanied by extreme bigotry. Needless to say, we don’t want bigots on the school board. And phraseology like “currently under attack” means she sees gender and sexuality diversity as an organization or movement trying to attack a way of life. That’s not who we are, and that’s an extremely toxic, harmful mindset.

But wait.... there’s more! I don’t know how Ahrens crammed so many red flags into one bullet point, but her take on sex ed is also disastrous. Sex ed is crucial, especially in low-income rural communities like ours. Kids need to know about consent and sexual abuse, safe sex practices, how to get birth control, healthy and unhealthy relationships, hygiene and sexual health, safe/unsafe masturbation, gender and sexuality, and so many other things. Current curriculum isn’t perfect, but schools are getting better at this, especially in Oregon.

Parents simply do not know better than professional educators what their kids need to know about sex. Surveys have shown that parents tend to think their kids are less sexually active/aware than they are, at pretty much every age and development level, so parents likely won’t think a lesson is age appropriate until it’s too late for some kids. And many parents who view sex, or pre-marital sex, or maybe just teen sex, as a bad thing might want abstinence-only sex ed, which is highly ineffective.

But the biggest problem is that this ties directly into Ahrens’ other problematic views. Having already pegged her as a likely member of the Christian Right, I can already guess what “sex-education materials” she’ll want to get rid of: anything having to do with LGBT+ issues, abortion, masturbation, sex for pleasure, or birth control. And these are arguably some of the most important roles sex-ed plays, giving marginalized students or students who cannot ask at home access to valuable, impartial and trusted information.

At this point, I’m getting pretty uncomfortable with Judy Ahrens, but the worst is yet to come.

3. To make sure academic achievement is the No. 1 priority above all other programs in the Three Rivers School District.

Okay, so this isn’t so much a social justice or moral issue; but why? Yes academics should be a priority, but school should also focus on the arts, physical activity, extracurriculars, and (personally I think this should be #1) students’ mental health. But this isn’t too big of an issue, I can easily let it slide.

Our current statistics show:

     - Third Grade English Proficiency 43%      - Eighth Grade Math Proficiency 35%      - 12th Grade Tracking for Graduation 68%

Yeah, that’s pretty concerning. We should probably address that. But check out her “solutions”:

My solutions for such low results:

A. Have only the best phonics-based reading instructions used in the early grades. Also have rigorous teaching programs for mastering spelling, grammar, and writing skills.

B. Re-examine Common Core, the dubious government standard for math instruction. We need to get “back to basics” and teach fundamentals if we want our students’ math scores to improve.

This is just beyond me. I don’t have a degree in it (tho I will in a few years!) but I know a fair amount about linguistics and pedagogy. I also went to elementary school in our district. “Phonics” is an extremely broad and vague category that generally means teaching letter sounds. My teachers did this. I’m pretty sure most teachers do this. But guess what; they’re trained but professionals who literally study how to teach kids to read and write. “Only the best phonics” sounds vaguely Trump-esque to me. In any case, it wouldn’t be a huge shift from the current policy, and kinda sounds like she doesn’t know what she’s talking about.

Which only seems more likely when you get to the second paragraph. Common Core is far from perfect, yes. But calling it the “dubious government standard” is too reminiscent of the Parents’ Rights philosophy. I guarantee you the average parent doesn’t know a better way to teach math. Additionally, Common Core literally is an attempt to go back to the basics. And it was implemented because math scores were abysmally low. People criticize Common Core because it’s not what they’re used to, but all it’s really doing is teaching kids to connect abstract ideas with concrete scenarios. Which is what math is all about.

C. Provide programs that instill strong patriotism in our students, including having all classes begin each day with the Pledge of Allegiance.

Uh-oh. Okay, so I have no problem with patriotism. But this sounds.....fascist? America-centrist? America First-ish? Nationalistic?

I’ve never liked the pledge of Allegience. For one thing it goes directly against the establishment clause (”under god”, seriously? I’m religious but that still bothers me), but also, we should be teaching our kids to think openly, to make their own decisions, and to be their own agents. And definitely not to just repeat-after-me and sign-on-the-dotted-line. If we want our kids to be patriotic, we should show them the true face of this country, encourage them to get involved, tell the good and bad sides to our history. Make them patriotic by giving them reasons to be, not by having them memorize a pledge they don’t even understand all the words to. Which brings me to...

D. We need to provide teachers with honest and accurate instructional materials in order to give students a solid background in American History and the U.S. Constitution. 

Okay, so I actually completely agree with this. However, I suspect that my and Judy Ahrens’ ideas on what is “honest and accurate” may be more than a little different. For me, I think the key here is making sure to teach the bad as well as the good, and be frank about the ways that the US has violated and still does violate the very rights and liberties we strive to protect. Only by recognizing one’s faults can one grow stronger, and the same can be said of a society or nation. Given her love of patriotism, I suspect Ahrens wants more of a whitewashed, postitive portrayal of our history. But she’s unclear (perhaps on purpose) so I’ll give her the benefit of the doubt on this one.

Let’s make our schools great again.

This is an *obvious* echo of MAGA. Which should scare you.

I would appreciate your support and vote on May 21, 2019. 

So that’s that for her pamphlet statement. But it got me concerned enough that I decided to do a little more research. And found out just how disastrous she really is.

Part Two: Under the Surface

So I went to her campaign website. It’s not very well designed, or secure, but you can check it out if you want.

Most of the content there is pretty much verbatim what’s in the pamphlet, but there’s a few noteworthy additions:

Following the daily pledge of allegiance, she calls for “a minute of silence.” I don’t know why.

The sex-ed clause has grown: “We need to protect traditional family values which are currently under attack. All sex education materials including classroom videos, textbooks, and discussions should be scrutinized for age appropriateness and content by a committee that includes parents. AND....parents must have the final say if they want to OPT OUT of any such activity/instruction they feel inappropriate for their child.” She definitely wants to make sure children don’t have to get subjected to educational, important information about sex (because sex is evil?). Curious how discussions can be scrutinized by parents, I’m assuming ahead of time.

She mentions participation in Vacation Bible School and Right To Life March (an anti-choice organization), confirming my suspicions that she’s firmly within the Christian Right. Which is not necessarily a bad thing, but it’s definitely cause for concern.

She has a list of “patriotic holidays” she wants to instill in students. One of them is Columbus Day, an extremely problematic and racist holiday.

Finally, there are two  aspects of her website that led me to dig deeper.

Part Three: Silencing Abuse Victims

So, in her bio on her website, Ahrens brags about banning a book:

Promoting traditional family values, helped to stop a certain controversial book (with heavy sexual content) form getting into Ocean View School District school libraries.

I was curious, so I investigated. Wanna know what the book was?

I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

Apparently her complaint was that it had sex scenes that were inappropriate for children. If you’re unfamiliar, the novel is semi-autobiographical, and includes descriptions of the sexual abuse Angelou faced as a child. It’s heavy stuff for sure, but also extremely important. It’s widely regarded as one of the most important pieces of feminist literature, and it tilts white male dominant America on its head. I read it when I was 12. It was disturbing. But it’s a book that is meant to disturb, and I’m very glad I read it when I did.

Now, I wouldn’t recommend that book to an eight year old. But this was in a middle school environment (read: kids aged 11-14). In fact, there was already a limitation: only eighth graders could check the book out. So we’re talking 13-14-year-olds. Now that may still seem young, but by age 12 most girls are already used to sexual harassment, and one in four will have been sexually assaulted by age 16. So reading the story of a survivor could be very helpful.

My biggest issue with this, though, is the way Judy Ahrens portrays it. “A certain controversial book”, she calls it, “with heavy sexual content.” It sounds meritless, obscene, pornographic. Instead, it is a renowned work of literature. Banning this book is not just removing some uncomfortable sex or disturbing abuse from the shelves; it is silencing the voices of victims and of women of color, voices which we should be raising.

This tale is a warning: Judy Ahrens favors censorship. This is scary. We already know she doesn’t like sex ed; will she fight to have educational books removed from libraries. Will she try to ban books that have gender and sexuality diverse characters? Given the next and final story in our saga, I’d not be at all surprised.

Part Four: Homophobic and Proud of It

It stands to reason that I, being a member of the LGBT+ community, would be most bothered by this. But I think, anyone would be bothered by this. Any decent, non-bigoted person, that is.

Right in the middle of her bio page, is this lovely gem:

I was elected in 2002 to the Westminster School Board with my continued theme of "Back to Basics." While in office, I, with the help of two other board members, lead the controversial fight against the homo-sexual issue.

WE WON ! [sic]

So, hopefully y’all can see exactly waht’s wrong with this, and I don’t have to say. But it’s obvious as can be. Blatant homophobic bigotry. “The controversial fight against the homo-sexual issue” is such a hurtful way to say that, too. So anyways, she’s shown herself to be a gross homophobe.

But I was curious, so I dug deeper, and boy did I find a story. In 1999, the State of California passed a law adding gender identity and sexuality to the list of things on the basis of which students could report discrimination. By 2004, every school district in California except Westminster had incorporated this new language into their policy. Westminster refused to modify their anti-discrimination policy language protecting trans students. Press at the time (and this became a national story) described Judy Ahrens as the board member most opposed to protections for trans kids. She was quoted as saying that the state law promotes homosexuality and that she’s “really sad that the moral compass isn’t out there” and “disappointed that economics is trying to outweigh morality and protecting our kids in this district.”

This was in 2004. It’s 2019 now. Much has changed. Maybe she could have changed; I would have been maybe willing to accept that. But she’s literally proud of this. She is using it as a campaign point.

If Judy Ahrens wins this election, it will send the message to lgbt+ kids in our district and everywhere that voters don’t care about them or their safety. If Ahrens wins, it will send the message that bigotry is a viable way to run a campaign. If Ahrens wins, it will send the message that hate wins.

So please, join me in voting AGAINST Judy Ahrens.

Vote for Danny York, who is neither particularly qualified nor severely unqualified, but is infinitely better than the hateful, bigoted, religious-extremest Ahrens. Keep our district welcoming and accepting of diversity.

And don’t only vote. This matters. Tell everybody. Make noise. Write letters to the editor. Share this, on facebook. We can defeat evil, but only if we join and rise to face it. So join, and rise. Please.

Ballots must be received by May 21. Probably for the best to return it by the 19th or 20th at least.