95 North. . . The Newspaper

With the recent release of this  video  posted by a mom in Tennessee, featuring her son crying in the car over incessant bullying at school, many have asked the same question that 11-year-old Keaton Jones asked: why do they bully?  A recent song entitled "Pray for Me" by rapper Brother Ali helps provides an answer: they bully because you're "different". They bully because they've been bullied or experienced trauma. And, yes, they bully because teachers let them. And parents don't know how to deal with it, despite their best intentions.  In "Pray for Me," Brother Ali documents the pain he still feels today over the bullying he experienced as a child due to his albinism.  Here, over a gospel-groovy hook and a jumpy beat full of slow steppin' vitality, Ali relives the pain he felt as a child along with an explanation of what the journey has been like for him as he's progressed through life.  He is certainly reflective- and make...

I posted this in my room this year. I'm encouraging each student (I'm fortunate to have no more than 4 at a time) to "pick one" for the week. Why not? The longer I've been working in education, the more and more I've felt that building positivity and community is the 1st priority. Of course, I should adjust/made a modified version of this list for my life outside of school. I just haven't gotten to it yet. I'll fully admit that I have a tendency towards cynicism and pessimism. However, it is little positive actions like those listed above that help push me out of those shells and out into the world of engagement, a world that stands on a higher ground. What's  happening on the higher ground? Everything is clearer. The regrets of the past and the anxieties of the future aren't weighing you down enough to drown out the present. Sounds good to me!