Days 137, 138, & 139 of AY20-21: wrapping up cycle 9

May 7th, 10th, and 11th were the final three days of cycle 9 at Abrome. May 7th was a Friday and was the last scheduled in-person day of the cycle, and the 10th and 11th were our scheduled remote days prior to changing up the cell compositions for cycle 10.

Cycle 9 ended with a whimper in many ways. The three inclement weather days coupled with lower turnout on the in-person days led to decreasing attendance as Learners often opted to stay home if a bit tired or wary of the weather knowing that their friends might not show up, either. This seemed like an inevitable place to end up as the pandacademic year chugged along, but there was hope on the horizon in that it seemed inevitable that we would be dropping down to risk stage level 2, soon, which meant that we would be able to come back together in larger cells, giving Learners more motivation to show up, despite what would certainly be rising temperatures. On Friday, though, the low attendance gave the Learners the opportunity to really connect with other Learners and Facilitators in a bunch of one-on-one interactions.

Good spot for a nap

My cell chose to be walk to the waterfall in the morning, which was nice, and then walk back to the lake in the afternoon. During the walk to the waterfall I played music requests from the Learners, and at the waterfall I got into an extended conversation about rap music history with one of them. We are truly of different generations, yet we still found common ground on our taste for music from both eras.

When we got to the lake, I spent some time chatting with the youngest Learner before he decided that the day would be a lot of observing others and taking some naps. The oldest Learner, meanwhile, spent her time talking with another young lady who she had met at the park prior.

I spent a most of my time that day interacting with an adolescent Learner who prefers to spend his time interacting with other adolescents when possible, while the other two Learners chose to spend much of their time away doing their own thing.

Earlier in the year we spent a lot of time and effort trying to save tadpoles in a puddle that kept drying up, and we succeeded in bringing many of them along to adolescents, themselves. On this day we noticed that the puddle was once again filled with tadpoles, but that large numbers of them were stuck in the mud, as their portion of the puddle dried up. The Learner and I went searching for some discarded bottles or cans to use to try to save them, and the Learner ended up cutting open a can to serve as a water transport tool and a shovel.

We thought that the operation would be pretty simple, as the previously stranded tadpoles seemingly came back to life as soon as they had enough water, but on this day it appears we arrived too late, and many of them perished. Nonetheless, we persisted and we were able to relocate enough of the ones that were still clinging to life to the water, and it was fabulous to see them swimming free, again. We hoped that our effort may have allowed them to eventually grow into viable mosquito eating adults.

Although I had no plans to jump in the water that day, the Learner then convinced me to jump in the water. We considered doing a backflip off the top of the overhang to the dock, but we failed to overcome our fear on that day.

At the other cell Facilitator Lauren spent a good amount of time connecting with a Learner who has really struggled with connecting with others since he joined Abrome in January, but was not able to show up in-person until March due to the Covid-19 surge and then the Texas Freeze. But on this day, given a smaller number of people, he made what seemed to be large strides.

At one point, the Learner asked Facilitator Lauren if he could show her a clip from a movie while she was trying to eat. She said he could but would appreciate it if he could wait until later so she could finish her lunch. He then responded that sometimes people say later without given a set amount of time, and that leads him to keep asking, which becomes annoying. Facilitator Lauren acknowledged the awareness, thanked him for raising it, and told him that she needed 20 minutes. He then set off to explore, during which time he caught a toad. Later, she asked him if he wanted to share the clip, and he did. They then continued to talk for a long time.

Later in the day Facilitator Lauren went on a 45-minute walk with another adolescent Learner, connecting with him in a meaningful way for the first time in many months as due to them not being in the same cells or him choosing to be remote for multiple cycles.

There was also ample hammock time, with Facilitator Ariel, and Learners getting their turns relaxing in the great weather before departing for the weekend.

When we returned virtually on Monday we braced ourselves for low turnout yet again, but some combination of missing each other and anticipation for dropping to risk stage level 2 for the first time all year seemed to have gotten a decent number of Learners out of bed for the morning meeting.

As with many morning meetings, we shared announcements and then a prompt. The most exciting announcement was two of the older Learners saying they got their second Covid-19 vaccination shot over the weekend. Later, one of the older Learners dropped off call as soon as she responded to the prompt. I jumped on Discord and asked if she was okay, and she said she was, so I asked why she dropped off. She said she shared her prompt and was done. I explained that being there to listen to others is often more valuable than sharing, as it allows others to know that what they have to say is valued. She then jumped back on for the remainder of the call.

Next, we shared the calendar for the two remote days and went through an abbreviated Set-the-Week meeting. One Learner wanted to have everyone join him in gaming, and Facilitator Ariel encouraged him to formally hot the offering so folks would show up. We also threw in some water chugging to get folks hydrated, but it turned out that only Facilitators showed up for that. The hydration struggle continues.

Later, I had a nice conversation with the mom of an unschooling family that was considering enrolling, but they felt that 1 hour and 15 minute commute was probably too much (and I agreed with them). Then they surprised me with, “I so appreciate your calling out Chris Hyde and your emphasis on diversity and justice.” She was referring to the difficult letter I wrote pointing out how incompatible any form of bigotry or dehumanization of groups of people, in this case the houseless, was with any form of liberatory education work. Because we both exist in a world that values (or at least markets to) unschooling families, I could not allow an anti-houseless narrative to go unchallenged.

In better enrollment news, on Tuesday I walked a prospective family through the Family Financial Worksheet and confirmed a shadow for their child the next cycle. We had delayed asking for enrollment agreements from families until the summer as we wanted to give them maximum flexibility considering our lack of clarity over what our pandemic plan would be for the next year. We did not feel comfortable asking for commitments in the first few months of 2021. We knew most families would probably re-enroll, but we could not be sure without enrollment documents in hand. But having a family commit to shadow, with others also lining up to shadow over the final two cycles, made me feel a bit more secure.

The other highlights of Tuesday included one of the Learners turning on his video to show us his haircut, and Facilitator Lauren and a young Learner watching old cartoons and talking about them together. They chose to watch ThunderCats and The Croods.

After the afternoon roundup the Facilitators did our final After Action Review of the cycle. We felt exhausted from Zoom, surprise, surprise, and couldn’t wait to be back together in-person, hopefully in larger numbers, when cycle 10 was set to begin in six days.

Days 135 & 136 of AY20-21: what should we do when we see harm?

Wednesday, May 5th was our 135th day of the pandacademic year. On this day, I facilitated the morning meeting for the cell I was a part of. I prepared three prompts for the meeting that I had hoped would spark an interesting conversation for our group that ranged from the youngest to the oldest Learners at Abrome. The prompts were: (1) When society is doing something harmful, what should you do about it? (2) What is society doing now that is hurtful (locally, state, nation, world)? (3) What should you do about it? The meeting stretched on as everyone took the prompts seriously, with each sharing their thoughts. One of the adolescent Learners who is normally quite reserved opened up in surprising ways during the conversation.

Relaxing in the water

Some of the ways that the group felt they should respond to society doing something harmful included helping someone who is affected by it; protest and rally to change the minds of leaders; introspect, talk about it, and participate in communities that are supporting people; help create alternatives that can undermine systems of harm; and “if you see something say something.”

What they felt society was doing now that is hurtful included racism; police abuse of power; removing and destroying homeless settlements; discrimination against AAPI and LGBTQ communities; devaluing and destroying the natural world; and the criminalization of people who are already hurting.

What they felt they should do about it included supporting the impacted communities, and donating or joining relevant organizations; filming the police; connecting people with nature, especially young people to reestablish connection with nature; supporting organizations that help people recover from the impacts of criminalization; and making books or movies about racism.

Great spot for sun

The day was going to be short for some of us, as one Learner was going to leave early for some skin art, I was going to drop some books off with a prospective family and schedule a call with another prospective family, and another Learner would end up going home because of an unfortunate run-in with a bunch of bugs. After the uncharacteristically long morning meeting, we walked to the river so that the Learner who had planned to depart early could enjoy some time there. After 45 minutes we walked back to the pickup spot together and then hung out on some large rocks talking about life while waiting for her ride.

After the Learner had left, I drove out to the home of four prospective Learners to drop off some books, and got to say hello to the 12-year-old girl member of the crew. I then returned to Abrome and scheduled a call with the family of four more prospective Learners for the next day, as well as trying to organize shadows for other prospective Learners who said they wanted to shadow with us before the end of the academic year.

Enjoying the temporary stream

Meanwhile, back at the cell, the Learners broke out the inflatable paddle board until one of the Learners who was on shore had a run in with a bunch of insects. The bites were nothing serious but he was ready to go home. On his walk back to the pickup spot they spotted a bunch of eggs that were located at the base of a tree and relayed that information back to the group still at the lake.

The rest of the crew did their best to enjoy themselves on the water but on this day a large number of local high school kids showed up for what would quickly turn into a very loud party, complete with fermented drinks and funny smelling cigarettes, if you know what I mean. Facilitator Lauren raised the desire to cede the space to the kids who seemed to have been let out of school early, as their presence (density, noise, smells) coupled with the increasing intensity of the heat seemed overwhelming. The other Learners agreed and they decided to take a walk to the first waterfall for the short remainder of the day. On their way they kept their eyes open for the eggs (later determined to be chicken eggs that someone had inexplicably placed there). It was a short stay at the waterfall, where they had their afternoon roundup. The discussed what was enjoyable about the day, what they had wanted to do but did not do, and what they wanted to do the next day.

Gaming in nature I guess

At the other cell, a Learner returned from his day off for his Star Wars birthday (May the Fourth be with you). Facilitator Ariel handed him the birthday card that all the Facilitators signed for him, and then the crew decided to walk to the location they dubbed “the cave” for their morning meeting. There, one of the adolescent Learners volunteered to lead the morning meeting.

While the walk was long, the Learners largely stayed in one place the entire day, enjoying the water and each other. Two of the Learners really focused on taking in all that nature had to offer them that day, soaking up the rays of the sun, appreciating the sounds of the water flowing by, and getting their feet wet and appreciating all that was happening on the bed of the temporary stream. Two of the Learners meanwhile spent much of their time playing video games on a phone. Not how I would spend my day but it worked for them. One of them did take some time to check out the water, and both seemed to appreciate the hike to and from the cave. At the end of the day another Learner led the afternoon roundup. He asked what everyone was excited about and consensus was that they were excited about the shadowers who would be joining us in the coming cycle. On the long walk back, Facilitator Ariel was able to have a deep conversation with one of the adolescents who is working through a lot in their life.

A great place to relax

Water fight!

On Thursday, May 6th, I was fully remote, focusing on administrative tasks. On the day I had a great 71-minute call with a family looking to shadow with us, and I communicated with other families, as well, to include one that may be moving from Mexico to join us! I was also compelled to write a blog post distancing ourselves from a nature educator in the area who has been vocal in his support of actively harming the houseless population as a means of ‘cleaning up’ the city. I also wanted to raise the awareness that educators have been complicit in the criminalization of the houseless. Too often many on the political left believe that if only we school more we will have a more tolerant, more peaceful society, but they ignore that the people run and are employed by the school come from our current society, and they ignore the explicit aims of schooling.

At the cell that I would have otherwise been at that day, many other Learners were also out. This left only one Learner and Facilitator Lauren. The Learner was given the option of staying home by his mom, but he chose to stay for the day and spend it one-on-one with Facilitator Lauren. But with flexibility in mind, they decided to relocate to another park for the day. The mom went home and picked up some water blasters and floaties, while Facilitator Lauren pulled out some water noodles.

At the park they went to, the young Learner thoroughly took in having Facilitator Lauren all to himself for the day. They got in a water blaster battle, played volleyball, sat in the sand, swam with noodles, and just enjoyed the green grass. It was a great day for both, and it would most certainly be the last time that only one Learner would be showing up for an Abrome day.

Meanwhile, at the other cell they had another hiking day. A long hike that gave the Learners plenty of opportunity to take in the beauty of the hill country in spring. When they finally settled down at a spot near the water, one of the Learners rested against a tree limb with his feet in the water. Nearby a toad was also appreciating the view, or maybe it was looking for food. The only thing that was not relaxing about the day for the other cell was that it was determined that there was a monster prowling in the water. Fortunately no one was hurt.

The criminalization of houselessness and the complicity of educators

On May 1st, 90,428 people voted for Proposition B, re-criminalizing houselessness in Austin, TX. Only 66,292 people voted against the proposition. Austin had long criminalized homelessness through a no sit, no lie ordinance that allowed the police to ticket and arrest the houseless—yes, for sitting or lying down in public. But in 2019 the city council voted to decriminalize sitting and lying down in public, which at the time seemed like a big win for civil liberties and civil rights, locally. Of course the police harassment and abuse of the houseless that preceded no-sit, no-lie continued even after city council removed the ordinance, but far fewer houseless people were being ticketed and arrested which helped limit a lot of the harm.

In February of 2020, the political action committee Save Austin Now started a petition drive to reinstate the City’s camping ban. A second petition attempt succeeded in February of this year, leading to the ballot measure being included in the May election. When people attacked the effort saying that criminalization was anti-homeless and did not do anything to help end houselessness, Save Austin Now and their allies (such as the Austin Police Association) often argued that they were not trying to criminalize homelessness—that they were actually trying to help the homeless! But the language of the proposition is unambiguous, it focuses wholly on criminalization and not at all on helping the houseless:

Shall an ordinance be adopted that would create a criminal offense and a penalty for sitting or lying down on a public sidewalk or sleeping outdoors in and near the downtown area around the University of Texas campus; create a criminal offense and penalty for solicitation, defined as requesting money or another thing of value, at specific hours and locations or for solicitation in a public area that is deemed aggressive in manner; create a criminal offense and penalty for camping in any public area not designated by the Parks and Recreation Department?

The new ban is expected to go into effect on May 11th. Currently, we do not know what that means. Will the police immediately begin ticketing and arresting the houseless? Will the city or the state begin to raze current encampments? Or will the city wait until more support is in place to help the houseless people who will be displaced? The questions are coming not just from the houseless and those who care about them, but also the supporters of Proposition B.

What we all know, those who care about the welfare of the houseless as well as those who want to disappear the houseless, is that Proposition B is intended to harm the houseless. Fines, jail time, and threats of violence only deepen the struggles of the houseless community, making it more difficult for them to escape houselessness. It is uncivilized and inhumane to punish people for being too poor to afford a safe place to go. The harm of criminalizing houselessness is tangible and real. Those who support Proposition B are okay with harming the houseless because they just want them out of sight and out of mind—in jail, in prison, pushed out to another city, or dead.

Image created by Eli H. Spencer Heyman (Twitter: @elium2)

It is no surprise that the people who are most in support of criminalizing houselessness tend to be those who feel most removed from the threat of falling into houselessness, and who do not see the humanity in those they see as the other. The map of voter support for Proposition B (see image) maps quite well onto the map of financial support for Save Austin Now, as well as onto the higher income neighborhoods of the city. While the initiative was driven by Republicans, it was successful because of the eager support of a large share of affluent Democrats and independents.

Unfortunately, it was also supported by too many educators, as well. As I pointed out a week ago, wannabe school board members and too many educators have rallied around issues such as criminalizing houselessness, protecting and promoting white supremacy, attacking trans kids, and removing pandemic safety protocols from public and private spaces and organizations. What all of these positions have in common is the dehumanization of historically marginalized and oppressed groups, or a complete disregard for the lives of those groups.

I was recently made aware of some eager and harmful social media comments by a local nature educator who serves many homeschooling families and some local school communities. His name is Chris Hyde and he is the founder and leader of Natureversity. The reason I feel compelled to call him out by name and raise this point is two-fold. First, it is vital for people in alternative education communities and the homeschooling and unschooling communities to understand that a disregard for the humanity of others is not congruent with a belief in child and youth liberation, as liberation requires a commitment to anti-oppression as a base to build off of. Second, Abrome paid Hyde to take us through a multi-day outdoor training last summer, and one of the Facilitators at Abrome had previously worked with him at another organization, and it is important to us that we publicly distance ourselves from his rhetoric and actions.

Some might dismiss Hyde’s comments as focused on cleaning up trash, whether he meant picking up actual garbage, or if perhaps he considered the personal belongings of displaced people to be trash to clean up. We know for a fact that in the past the local police have forced houseless people to leave their stuff behind at the threat of arrest, and then they would trash their personal belongings, or a ‘cleanup crew’ would come in and threw everything away. They’ve even destroyed water bottles in the summer, and thrown away mobility devices. Some might even question whether cleaning up is a euphemism for disappearing people, such as mass arresting the houseless, or putting them on buses with a one-way ticket out of town. Hyde’s comments did not appear to go that far, but plenty of people on the same “Take Back Austin” Facebook page thread were willing to go there (images attached). Take Back Austin, by the way, seems to be a collection of anti-houseless, pro-MAGA folks led by right-wing City Councilwoman Mackenzie Kelly who somehow feel that the affluent Austinites need to take back their city from houseless folks. As if the houseless have any power whatsoever. Inhumane and delusional.

We had some difficult conversations around houselessness during the training that we did with Hyde this summer. We made clear why we would not call the police on the houseless, and we argued that houselessness is a choice made by society far more than it is a choice made by those experiencing it. That in a just, compassionate society that prioritized the wellbeing of everyone, that houselessness would not exist. We clearly did not move him to recognize the humanity of houseless people, or our collective responsibility to each other and the environment.

Whether or not to criminalize houselessness is far more than a question of aesthetics, or a effective tool to combat houselessness. It is a question of ethics, and a question of what type of society do we want to live in. Any educator who believes that all children should be treated as full people must be opposed to the othering, marginalization, and oppression of the houseless. After all, over 2 million children experience houselessness each year. Instead, educators should be working to help change the conditions of society so that children are able to grow up in a world that will nurture them and allow them to contribute to their families, their friends, their neighborhoods, and to improve the human condition. And in order to help create that world we must begin with a firm commitment to anti-oppression.

Day 119 of AY20-21: the challenge of centering the needs of others

Thursday April 8th was the 14th day of cycle 8, and day 119 of the pandacademic year. It was also the first shadow day for a prospective Learner, and the third shadow day for another.

At the morning meeting Facilitator Ariel volunteered to be the game master, having us sit in a circle and sharing in order from tallest to shortest. I was facilitating the meeting and had us start with announcements and then introduce ourselves by stating our name, pronouns, how long we’ve been at Abrome, and telling the group something interesting about ourselves. We then shared our intentions for the day, and then we each mentioned what makes us feel comfortable when we are in a new setting with new people. Considering that we had two shadowers with us this seemed like a great prompt and the answers were mostly pretty helpful: when they break away from the group to talk to me, when people share with me, when I have a safety device and can retreat into it (not very helpful), friendliness, doing an activity with them (e.g., game), talking, finding common ground, sharing memes, when people are exactly like me (not very helpful).

Before we did anything else that day the group had planned to visit with the houseless folks they spoke to the day before. Multiple people committed to address a need that was shared with them the day before, and each showed up that morning with the items they committed to bring: bread, cheese, granola bars, water, and a calendar. It was nice to see follow through from the group on an issue that a Learner had indicated meant a lot to her.

Next we had planned to walk to The Texas State Capitol to see if we could make people feel uncomfortable about free kids in public spaces in the middle of the school day. Facilitator Ariel and I once again dropped back so that the Learners could lead the way, but when everyone looked to the same Learner they had been deferring to the previous several weeks, I asked if someone else was able to take the lead. An adolescent Learner was out of his comfort zone but he decided to lead the way. Off he went, pretty quickly, with everyone following. I walked next to him and told him that leading wasn’t just about being at the front, but also making sure everyone in the group was taken care of. I encouraged him to look behind every once in a while to make sure he wasn’t leaving his friends behind.

When we came across a sunken courtyard the youngest Learner insisted that we stop and play there. He had a skateboard (minus the wheels) that he thought he could use to do tricks off of in the courtyard. The Learners all reminded him that we agreed to a timeline that included getting to the Capitol as soon as possible because two Learners needed to leave early. The young Learner struggled to find a reason to stick with the plan, and told everyone that they needed to adjust the plan so he could play. Facilitator Ariel sat with him, acknowledged that he wanted to play, and eventually convinced the Learner to stick to the plan that the Learners collectively set that morning.

When we got to the Capitol grounds we settled in around a large oak tree for some conversation. I had been concerned by how little the Learners were interacting with the shadowers so I addressed it with a couple of them, particularly the ways in which they used their bodies to turn away from conversation. It was frustrating as I had spoken about it multiple time that week. Some of the Learners said that they did not realize they were doing it, and some insisted that they were not doing it. All said that they did not want to ignore the new Learners but that they did not know how to interact.

At 12:00 p.m. I feared that the day would get away from us and that we would not be able to go into the Capitol in time to participate in any committee hearings where people could address the committee. Everyone agreed that we would eat lunch for half an hour and then walk in. At that point, all of the Learners began to walk away from the Facilitators and the two shadowers, and I said to them, “I’m making the observation that all of the Learners are walking away from the shadowers.” They did not invite the shadowers to join them, though. I recognized that they were all feeling insecure, particularly because the newest shadower was older than each of them, but I also remember each of their first days (and weeks) and remember how out of place they felt then, and how they all appreciated it when the more veterans Learners chose to center the needs of shadowers instead of letting their insecurities prevent them from being welcoming.

When we got into the Capitol we tried to find a committee hearing that we could join, but we found out that they were all out of session because both the senate and the house were in session. We were able to get in the house gallery as they discussed Amendment No. 3 to Texas House Bill 1239. It was a bill that was purportedly about religious freedom but upon hearing the debate on the floor it became clear to me that it was more about the culture wars. Those who were opposed to any restrictions on gatherings during the Covid-19 pandemic were looking to carve out exceptions to the state being able to enforce public health safety measures. The obvious place to start would be churches. The vote tended to fall along party lines, which highlights the challenge of hoping that partisan government bodies can center the needs of people who do not vote or donate to the party.

After watching the session we walked out of the house gallery and began winding our way through the Capitol. As the Learners were running up and down stairs I asked if they wanted me to referee a race. Most of them did, so I laid out the rules. It would be a short race. They would run down one flight of stairs, run around to the opposite side of the stairs, and then run right back up. I would space them out in five second intervals so that none would trip over the others. As I counted off for each to go, one Learner could not wait and began to inch toward the starting line. Another Learner tried to hold him back and lost control of him, but fortunately he fell down to the side instead of down the stairs. That would have been bad. Eventually every Learner had taken off with one Learner coming to the finish line. I was a bit confused for a second as the other Learners were not hot on his tail, but apparently he was the only one who listened to the rules of the game.

After the race and after everyone caught their breath, we walked toward the exit. As we walked by some staffers I loudly said to the Learners, “keep your hands in your pockets, you really embarrassed us today.” With a look of shock on the faces of the staffers I turned to them and said, “school kids need discipline.” I don’t think any of them were amused, but I was amused because it seemed to me that they forgot what school was like.

Outside the Capitol the youngest Learner said he wanted to ride his skateboard down a steep grassy area that came out on a road. Facilitator Ariel said that was not a great idea because it would almost certainly lead to some sort of injury. The Learner got upset and said that he could do it. Facilitator Ariel who has been skateboarding for years more than the Learner had been alive said, “are you willing to trust me?” The Learner then asked if it would be a better idea to play on a much smaller slope that did not come out on a road.

Two of the Learners left early, as planned. After they left one of the Learners asked me if they could go investigate what looked like an ice cream truck up the road. I said that I would accompany him, although I doubted an ice cream truck would normally set up there given the limited foot traffic. When we showed up it was indeed open, to my surprise. The Learners got excited and began to look for a menu with prices, when a lady with a bunch of Planned Parenthood signs told them that they had rented out the ice cream truck and that they could get some ice cream for free. I told the lady that we were not volunteers and they said that it was okay. I suggested to the Learners that they ask the lady what she was there for and she was eager to talk to them about their health services. But the Learners were so focused on the ice cream the lady said, “it can wait until they get their ice cream.” Once they got their ice cream I again asked, and one Learner walked off while the other completely zoned out as he dug into his ice cream. The lady said, “it’s okay, don’t worry about it.”

We walked off and I asked the Learners why they ignored the lady who just gave them free ice cream. The youngest was so lost in the ice cream that he did not even understand what I was asking, while the other insisted that he was listening. I asked him what the organization did, and he said he did not know. I said that might be an indication that he was not listening. When we got back to the Capitol grounds I insisted on talking to them about ways in which they can show gratitude when people give them something, whether it is people with a political agenda or perhaps their parents.

Towards the end of the day, those same two Learners were fixated on going back to 7-Eleven for more sugar, so I agreed to take off with them in one direction while Facilitator Ariel and the remaining Learners and shadowers could drop by the ice cream truck to see if they could get some free ice cream. Fortunately, this time around each of the Learners listened to the women who had rented out the truck as they shared what Planned Parenthood does, they asked questions, and they thanked them. They even asked if they could get a picture with the volunteers. I missed out on that feel good moment though, as I was focused on getting us to 7-Eleven and then to the pick-up point in time.

The day was an exciting and positive one for most Learners, but I was pretty down on how the day played out. I saw legislators prioritizing the wants of their political base instead of centering the needs of those most vulnerable to the pandemic. I also saw Learners focusing on their desires for food or comfort over the needs of others to feel seen and welcome. We are all learning and growing together, and I recognize that many younger people have not had a lot of practice prioritizing the needs of others, especially those who have spent thousands of hours trapped in conventional schools. I committed to raising these issues the next day at the Check-in and Change-up.

The other cell had a much easier day. Two Learners researched what to feed ducks and brought corn for them. There was leaf printing on clay. And after spending half the day at the lake, they spent the second half of the day at a water fall where they tried to dam up the stream and played in the woods.

Day 118 of AY20-21: frustration, challenging conversations, and lessons learned

April 7th was day 118 of our pandacademic year. On this day we would have four Learners, one prospective Learner, and two Facilitators present. For the morning meeting I was the game master, and I said that we respond to prompts by the second letter of our first name. Then the Learners took over figuring out the order.

Facilitator Ariel was leading the morning meeting and he started by reminding everyone that they had agreed to focus on houselessness that day. One of the Learners said that she wanted to find ways to have conversations with some houseless folks, which was an ongoing goal of hers but that she was not feeling confident about engaging in. In response to the prompts, we each shared how we were feeling, we shared something that we do with our family that we wish we could share with our friends, and then we discussed the types of activities we could engage in to positively impact the lives of houseless folks? What we came up with was passing out snacks and water; helping procure tents, food, and clothing; giving the houseless money; organizing a tent drive; giving folks bottles of waters and shoes; helping folks feel seen, greeting them, and smiling at them with our eyes; and “jump in Antonio’s car and drive near my house where we can give them money.”

Once we were finished with the meeting the Learner who wanted to talk to some of the houseless folks walked toward a spot where a couple of tents were set up. She was nervous, but after talking to me and Facilitator Ariel she was ready to give it her best shot. But the delay led to the Learners turning in toward each other and away from discomfort. It was then that I noticed that some of the Learners were not exactly welcoming in the shadowing prospective Learner. I took a picture of how their body positioning seemed exclusionary, and then invited the Learner who was most obviously walling off the shadower over for a conversation. I raised what I had observed, and produced the photo when the Learner expressed disbelief that he could be doing that with his body. We then spoke briefly about how it may feel to be excluded, and then I stepped back and let the Learner go back and join the others, who by that time had welcomed the shadower into the circle.

Everyone then walked toward the bridge where the tents were. There were several folks at the encampment, but the Learner focused her energy on one woman who was receptive to the conversation. Eventually Facilitator Ariel and a young Learner joined in on the conversation, while most of the other Learners stood back and stared. The Learner in charge asked the woman what they could use, and the woman gave her a list of some food items and requested a calendar, as well.

After the conversation I pulled in the Learners who did not engage with anyone and told them how awkward it seemed to just stand around and watch, and about my concern that folks are seen as a project to be worked on or an exhibit to stare at. We talked about the problem of poverty porn where people (usually Westerners) go into poverty-stricken areas (such as slums) to just stare at people who are suffering without material resources. The Learners were getting more feedback this week about interacting with the world than many of them had had in quite some time.

The exchange with the houseless folks took up a lot of our early morning energy, having really stretched many of the Learners out of their comfort zone, and they were ready to move on. It seemed like an eternity for us to eventually move toward Pease Park, where we had hoped to run into more houseless folks. Along the way, there were some more challenging conversations about honoring safety boundaries, and not sitting on macadam in the middle of a hot, sunny day.

We broke up into two groups, Facilitator Ariel and a young Learner who was struggling, and me with all the other Learners. We had the same destination, but chose not to take the same path. I let the adolescent Learners lead the way, and it was the shadowing prospective Learner who figured out which direction to walk in. When we got to the park we were disappointed to find it fenced off, and I asked aloud if they thought the entire park was closed, or just that section. Wanting to avoid asking questions of strangers, the Learners decided that they would just walk around the edge of the fencing until they could enter the park. Unfortunately, that took them up a hill and folks were getting pretty tired. At some point there was an option to walk on a trail into the park after the fencing ended, and the Learners turned to me to ask if they should walk in at that point. I reminded them that they were in charge, and I was following their lead. They chose not to go in, which was unfortunate because it was a much softer walk, in the shade, and led right into the park.

When we finally found another way in all the Learners but the shadower charged down an animal trail. I told the shadower that I planned to just walk 20 meters further and turn into a wide open portion of the park. Once we got into the park we waited for the other Learners to emerge from the brush. We then found a picnic table and settled in waiting for Facilitator Ariel and the other Learner to show. We were all quite impressed with the park (I was the only one who had been at the park before) and everyone was talking about how much they would love to come back sometime. The only question was how far of a walk it was! (more on this later)

It took Facilitator Ariel and the other Learner quite some time to get the park, partly because of the struggles the Learner was dealing with, and partly because they came across a great climbing tree along their way. They also found an excellent water crossing that allowed them to easily enter the park without having to walk all the way to 24th Street.

Once they arrived, Facilitator Ariel and I broke off to talk about several issues, while all the Learners talked, and then found their way to another large tree to climb. It was such a great climbing tree that we decided to take a group picture of us on it or hanging off of it.

Eventually I offered to play Murder of Crows with everyone, and they debated whether or not they wished to play. I told them that we needed six people to play, and that if they wanted to play they needed to settle in so we could play. They were not eager to play, so I told them that we could try again later in the week if they like, and I put the game away. But then, after I put the game away, about ten minutes later, they came back and said that they were ready to play. I said that I had just put the game away and was no longer interested in playing, and was content to just talk with Facilitator Ariel at that point.

The Learners found plenty of other ways to entertain themselves until 3:00 p.m. when they asked if we should walk back. In spite of walking well over 2.5 miles to get to the park, we were actually just a stone’s throw away from our starting point. We just happened to walk in the opposite direction of the park a good distance until we started walking to the park. Facilitator Ariel and I said we were ready to head back if they liked, although it seemed a bit early. They then began to head out, following the lead of one of the older Learners. As they moved out, the youngest Learner cried out that they were going in the wrong direction. Each wanted to go back the way they came, and neither trusted that the path that the other group came on would get them back quickly. Facilitator Ariel and I asked each how they knew their way was the shortest. Eventually everyone agreed that the younger Learner probably knew the shortest route back (and they were right).

We returned to the drop-off point after walking 3.4 miles. We reflected on our day and we all agreed that we appreciated the experience of going to a new park. To end the day we talked about what we would do the next day, to include bringing the houseless folks some of the stuff that they requested. Different folks each committed to bringing bread, cheese, granola bars, water, and a calendar. It was a long day with a good amount of frustration, challenging conversations, and lessons learned. What I would call a good day.

They had a very different, much more relaxing and refreshing experience at the other cell:

Day 117 of AY20-21: I yelled at a Learner

Tuesday was day 117 of the pandemic year and the first day of shadowing for a prospective Learner. We started out the day with a morning meeting where we led with announcements. My announcement was I did not want to wait until the end of the day to do our social justice oriented activity, as that risked us not getting to it. Plus, it was easier for a couple of Learners to do it early in the day rather than later in the day. We then each introduced ourselves with our name, pronouns, how long we have been here, and what our favorite thing about Abrome was. The favorite things responses were interesting: no dominating hierarchy, the community and the people inside it, learning more about myself and the world and feeling less alone, less “fights” (i.e., struggles between teachers and student than there are at school), having new people come to Abrome.

That Tuesday was also a huge step up in terms of our intentionality on social justice for the social justice oriented Flying Squad. We agreed that we were going to pick up trash again, and we got right to it after the morning meeting. We spent a lot of time picking up trash on the walk that morning, and it would lead us into many deep conversations and lessons learned. Also, some songs. I don’t know how I did not know, but apparently the Learners and Facilitator Ariel have sung “the Abromies go marching two by two, hurrah, hurrah” before, and their rendition on this day was fabulous, until a turtle stole the show.

Facilitator Ariel and I tried to help the Learners recognize where they were physically within the city, and we would point out landmarks and help them orient themselves based on places they’ve been with the Flying Squad this cycle, or prior to the pandemic. We also talked about why and how the trash accumulates in certain places. Some tried to turn the pickup in to a competition, but Facilitator Ariel specifically requested that we not compete, and that we just work together.

In total we had four large heavy duty garbage bags with us between seven people on what should have been a pretty clean trail along the river on the west side of downtown Austin. We were filling up the bags pretty quickly though, leading us to believe that either the city does not clean up very often, or that they don’t clean up at all, or Austinites are particularly challenged at finding trash cans for their trash.

As we were going under the 6th street bridge above Shoal Creek the youngest Learner looked in a large storm drain and said, “why is someone sleeping in there?” I asked him to step away so that we could talk about it. At that time an adolescent Learner walked over to it to look in, and I told him, “please do not look in there, leave the person alone.” He said, “I just want to look,” and I replied, “no, do not look in there. Leave them alone.” He then said he was going to look and proceeded to bend down to look in there and I yelled, “[name], step away now!” It was the third time I’ve yelled at a Learner since I’ve been at Abrome. It shocked everyone, including the Learner. One of the benefits of yelling once every two years is that it brings everything to a halt. I then had a conversation with the Learner about how little privacy and dignity are afforded to the houseless, and how our curiosity does not justify us disregarding their privacy and dignity. The Learner was naturally defensive and upset, but on the topic of honoring the humanity of those who are already marginalized in society I was not going to let this moment pass without explaining clearly what my concerns were. As I was talking to the Learner about it Facilitator Ariel was talking to all the other Learners about the necessity to not cause harm, and how easy it is for people who have privilege to hurt others.

A bit further down the trail the Facilitators stepped away so the Learners could discuss where they wanted to take the day. As we were standing and sitting around a middle aged man came walking by and jokingly told us not to pick up his bed roll that was sitting under the bridge. It was a joke that fell flat, as no one thought that joking about being homeless was in the least bit amusing. Particularly in that moment. The Learners eventually decided that they wanted to find a place to dump the trash, go to the bathroom, and then make their way north to The Texas State Capitol grounds to hang out, with a stop for some food along the way.

We emerged from the trail to a spot that conveniently had a dumpster waiting for us, and after we took a photo with our haul, we dumped the trash. I expected that we would then begin to walk but a woman with a dog came by and the Learners asked if they could pet the dog, and then they got into an extended conversation with the woman. Facilitator Ariel and I used the time to talk about the difficulties that we had under the bridge and what role we can play in helping Learners decenter themselves when necessary.

Soon thereafter we stumbled upon a bike shop that Facilitator Ariel’s friend works at. There, he talked about difficult situation that arose for the shop the prior summer during the protests and uprising around racial injustice and police brutality. The shop had a contract with the police department, and decided to end their contract, and that led to a lot of harassment directed at the bike shop. The harassment included threats of violence against the shop, even though the high profile owner of the shop expressed very reactionary, conservative views of the necessity of policing.

Facilitator Ariel and most of the Learners then went to a nearby park to use a public restroom, while I stayed with two Learners who wanted to get some food at a local corner store. Both Learners bought food, and sat down to eat, and I pulled out my lunch. As I was finishing, Facilitator Ariel and the other Learners came back.

One of the Learners who stuck around had found two skateboards without wheels and was playing around on them. He was practicing a variety of moves, and when Facilitator Ariel showed up, he also got into the act. It was during this time that it became apparent to me that I am definitely not the cool Facilitator. Just kidding, I already knew that.

We then continued to move north toward The Capitol, although the youngest Learner began to struggle. It may have been the salty food he bought coupled with not drinking enough water. We all slowed down for him and waited. I was proud of how the Learners recognized the need to support the struggling Learner instead of walking off.

One of the great things about the day was that the long walk allowed us to have a bunch of different types of conversations. For example, while walking one of the Learners asked Facilitator Ariel if he could touch his hair. I intervened and asked to speak to the Learner. I told the Learner that it is inappropriate to ask Black people to touch their hair, and that American history is one that has never honored the bodily autonomy of Black people. I asked him if he had ever been told not to ask Black people to touch there hair, he said no, and I said that that’s okay. Today was the day, and even though he may be curious that, once again, there are times when curiosity must be put on pause. Not only did he not ask again, but he later walked up to Facilitator Ariel and apologized.

Also on the long walk, we came upon a houseless musician who spoke with us about his art, about his experience in Austin, and about concerns he had about Austin and society. For some of the Learners, it was their first ever extended conversation with a houseless person. I hope that it helped move the perception of danger a bit, as a local group has been spending lots of money trying to convince Austinites that the houseless are a threat to public safety so that people will vote to further criminalize homelessness (by making it illegal to camp or sleep in public).

When we got to the Capitol some people collapsed to the ground and slept. Facilitator Ariel and a young Learner got goofy with the GoPro. Later, that Learner wanted to roam the grounds to look at the statues and Facilitator Ariel offered to join him. As they went from one statue to another, they talked about what the statues represented. When they got to the large statue glorifying the Confederacy, they discussed why it was so prominently placed, and so tall. They then contrasted that to the African-American and the Mexican-American statues nearby. In reflection, Facilitator Ariel and I agreed that the variety of experience and conversations we had that day fully justified our move away from Barton Springs and to House Park. We were finally able to focus on social justice.

As the day was coming to a close we let the Learners lead us back to the pickup point. One of the Learners took charge, and began walking in the wrong direction. Two other Learners expressed concern that they were going in the wrong direction, but had differing opinions on which way to go. Eventually they checked out a map on the shadower’s phone, and they began heading in the right direction. Later, they got stuck again. With a lot of confusion, fueled by exhaustion, the youngest Learner implored them to follow him. Eventually they did, and he led us right back. It was a remarkably remarkable day in retrospect.

Meanwhile, at the other cell they made friends with two ducks, discovered berries on a favorite tree and used an app to determine that they were mulberries, investigated a stick with dried up zebra mussels on it, and largely just enjoyed having a very large public space primarily to themselves for the day.

Day 111 of AY20-21: lots of social justice conversations

I’m going to try to catch up on the daily blog posts between now and the end of cycle 9, which runs from April 19th to May 11th. I fell behind as things had gotten quite busy with the latest info session and more people becoming interested in going through the admissions process at Abrome, and the age-old problem of thinking that if you’re already behind you can just throw another delayed blog post to the pile.

Monday, March 29th would be our last day before people started coming back from quarantine in the specialty cell that I was in with Facilitator Ariel, the Flying Squad. I wanted to start the week strong with the few who were not in quarantine, so I asked the group what was interfering with our ability to focus on social justice. The answers included that our drop off point was too far west, that some were uninterested, that some were distracted by food, and that some were too focused on spending money. On this day we committed to supporting a Learner’s focus on houselessness, a big issue in Austin right now as there is a campaign to criminalize the houseless. We agreed to walk to a mural of Wonder Woman in downtown Austin that was across the street from an encampment, so that the Learner could hand out cliff bars and water to the houseless and engage with them about some of the challenges that they are facing. We agreed that we would stop by some food trucks to appease the fixation that some Learners had on buying food (that they cannot easily get at home).

One of the Learners who had been wearing hiking boots had been struggling as of late, and we were thrilled to see that he got a new pair of sneakers, which he later reported made his walking experience much more comfortable. With better shoes we were all comfortable taking a different path in search of new experiences. As we walked there was lots of conversation about social justice oriented concerns. Two of the Learners had made comments about how they were uncomfortable around the houseless, so Facilitator Ariel asked them to talk about their fears. This led them to discussing what type of prejudices are common in society, and how such prejudices can infect us.

Meanwhile, on the walk I got to speak with the Learner who was on a mission to learn more about how she could impact the issue of houselessness. She admitted that she did not know how to talk to houseless folks, and worried that she would not be able to talk to them in a way that made them feel comfortable. I suggested that she talk to them as she would anyone that she was meeting on the street for the first time, and then we talked about strategies to do so. Fortunately she brought food and drinks that she could offer folks which would serve as a potential segue into a conversation between two people who are curious about one another. I also brought up my concerns about coming across as someone who is probing people for information, with the assumption that they can solve their problems. Specifically, we talked about the notion of white saviorism, and how that could potentially play into such interactions. The Learner was quite nervous, but eager to consider ways of being that would prevent her from unknowingly doing harm.

When we got to the Wonder Woman mural we took a break to drink water while the Learner who was leading the way prepared to engage with the folks at the encampment. I was really impressed with the way that the Learner acknowledged her fear, and then made her way into the encampment offering support and looking for conversation. Unfortunately for her, it was the middle of the day and hot, so a lot of folks were not available to speak with her. Nonetheless, she engaged with some houseless folks. The two other Learners who had admitted to being uncomfortable around the houseless observed her efforts, and it was nice to see their perceptions challenged.

Then we walked across the Congress Street bridge where we came up on one of the large office buildings, where I noticed a bunch of studs that were placed on the marble that ran along long rows of raised plant beds. I asked the Learners if they knew why the studs were added to the marble, assuming that it was to prevent houseless folks from laying down, which would have been quite topical given the mission for the day. A Learner guessed that it was to prevent skateboarders from using it, and I replied, “actually …” and went into an explanation of what hostile architecture (or anti-homeless architecture) is. Facilitator Ariel then interjected and said that actually that particular type of stud is meant to prevent skateboarders from using it, and then we talked about the differences between anti-skateboard architecture and hostile architecture. It was a really good moment for me to model to a Learner that it was okay to be wrong, and to learn from it.

As we continued to walk, one of the Learners asked me if I was excited about the Godzilla vs. Kong movie that was coming out. I told him I was uninterested in watching any King Kong movies as they were rooted in anti-Black racism. This caught the Learner off-guard, and he explained that his desire to watch the movie had nothing to do with racism, and then he began to talk about how great the movie was going to be. I acknowledged that his interest in the movie was not rooted in racism, but that the movie was, and that I was willing to talk to him about why they are racist. But that I was not interested in talking to him about his arguments for why he would watch the movie in spite of their racist history. He then took the conversation to Facilitator Ariel, who likewise told him that he was not interested in talking about the movie. The day was shaping up to be one that really challenged this Learner’s beliefs.

We continued to walk in support of a Learner’s mission to engage with the houseless, and we focused on walking toward the Arch near 7th and Red River. As we were walking an individual began walking with us, trying to engage with us. One Learner asked, ‘why was the homeless guy trying to talk to us,’ and we asked him why he assume the person was houseless. This led to another conversation about prejudices and assumptions.

After we stopped so the Learner could hand out some more water and cliff bars, we decided that it was time for the Learner and Facilitator Ariel to get some long overdue lunch. We made our way back to Congress so that we could stop at a convenience store where they could grab food. When we arrived, however, there were a handful of Austin Police Officers standing around. All the Learners wanted to go in, so I offered to watch over their bags at some tables reserved for customers of the store. Facilitator Ariel recognizing that I would be out there around APD cops asked me if I would be alright, which one of the Learners picked up on. Facilitator Ariel then explained to her why he asked that given my past experiences with the Austin Police Department, and the need for us all to be watching out for one another.

After Facilitator Ariel and the Learner got some food, and another Learner got himself some seaweed and a drink, we settled in to eat our lunches. I ate a sandwich that I had packed in my bag, while another Learner ate from a bag of chips that he had brought along. It was restful sitting there and eating and talking with one another in the shade, and we were in no hurry to get going. When we finally finished and as we were packing up, Facilitator Ariel got a call from a friend who wanted him to know that they were at the sight of a protest where people were getting arrested. We were only two and a half blocks away, so we decided to walk in that direction.

When we arrived at protest site at 4th and Congress, where Garrett Foster, a supporter of Black Lives Matter, was killed the past summer, we noticed that police had shut down the street and surrounded the group of protesters who were yelling at them. We later found that the police had come up on the protest and threatened to arrest the protesters, to include Garrett’s finance, Whitney, a Black woman and quadriplegic who was with Garrett when he was killed the prior summer. Two white women then positioned themselves between the police and Whitney, which led to the police arresting one of the women, shoving the other woman out of the road, and dumping Whitney out of her wheelchair into the gutter. Understandably, the protesters were outraged by the actions of the police, and from a safe distance I was able to talk to the Learners about what had happened and why the police were so antagonistic toward these protesters in particular.

As the police relocated away from the protesters, and as the protest died down, we began to walk back toward the pick-up point at Zilker Park. During the walk one of the younger Learners expressed how concerned he was for Facilitator Ariel during the incident, and how he wanted him to avoid the police so that he would not be arrested. Facilitator Ariel explained to the Learner that as a Black man he does not get the luxury of just avoiding the police in Austin, but that he would do his best to not engage with them. It was a heavy day for the Learners, as we had several extended conversations about houselessness, racism, and police brutality.

Because of the unexpected stop at the protest site, we really needed to move. While one of the Learners no longer needed to stop at the food truck because he ate at the convenience store, one of the Learners still hadn’t been able to get any food, and that was his main objective for the day. Facilitator Ariel agreed to jog with him to P. Terry’s while the rest of us would go straight to the pickup point. Our path took us by Trader Joe’s, where the Learner had previously gotten boxes of organic jelly beans, and asked if we could stop in to buy some more. I reminded him that he agreed to go straight back, and that he agreed to keep walking. We made such good time that we were able to spin around some bars along the river, and got back to the pick up point with time to spare.

Once Facilitator Ariel and the other Learner joined us we settled in for a great afternoon roundup. We noted that each of us had walked 6.2-7.2 miles that day, and we were able to really dive into some social justice topics. All in all, it was a really great day for us as a Flying Squad.

Meanwhile, at the other cell: