Sometimes the truth about an injustice is uttered so eloquently that its very description of the pain and indignity caused, while not in itself the solution, is a crucial step in our collective task to envision and materialize the solution. @esglaude.bsky.social has, in my opinion, done so here.

This pride month, if you’re not plugged in, please take a moment to think about what you specifically can do to support trans kids under attack. I get asked all the time about steps people can take, so I hope at least one person takes this to heart. I’ll be adding throughout June. A thread.🧵

If we understand hope as active insistence rather than a passive desire, then now is precisely when it is most important to commit to hope and offer hope to our children. We don't do this by denying reality but by embodying the world we wish for, and by lifting up others who are doing the same.

Did you support Minnesota mutual aid this winter? Time to do the same for New Jersey.

I’ve been writing Notes on Hope for 2 years as of today. A lot has happened in that time to make the utility of hope feel shaky. But I still believe that cultivating a rugged form of hope (distinct from optimism) is critical fuel, motivating action & enabling us to resist buying into inevitability.

Everyone should probably have to answer to a room full of teens on a regular basis. This might solve a lot of our problems, actually.

Trans and queer folks, I’ve appreciated the answers you’ve given and welcome more … Everyone else, I suggest reading through these replies …

Ms. Blythe, 7th grade French. She took me for tea and pastries every Friday for a year, while my mom was in the hospital. Good teachers are so much more than any outcomes we can measure with tests and standards.

People have been asking me if I know of a resource like StandWithMinnesota for New Jersey, and I haven't found something comprehensive. So, for the moment, I have put together all the links to NJ orgs, crowdfunding links, events, and stuck them on a page of SWM. standwithminnesota.org/jersey

A hydrangea for your Sunday! We're in that brief moment of NYC spring when it's light enough for me to write outside in the evening, but not yet so hot that the trade-off is melting and being eating by mosquitoes. #bloomscrolling #nycspring

Donations urgently needed to support Delaney Hall detainees and families: Direct Family Support: Linktr.ee/SupportOurFamilies Grocery Store Gift Card Fund: GiveButter.com/GroceryCards Commissary Fund: GiveButter.com/commissaryfund Pantry Bags: Food4NJ.org

Today is Honey's 11th birthday, which means that she has been observing humans for over a decade now. She thinks humaning looks very stressful. She has learned in her 11 years that naps, snuggles, and treats are the meaning of life. She thinks humans should do more of these things. 🐾

This is a really practical list of simple ideas for how you can help feed people, wherever you are, whatever your own time and resources might allow. If you're feeling overwhelmed by news, finding a manageable, concrete way to be of use is one of the best ways to reorient. ⤵️

As someone who writes about community a lot but is also pretty introverted, I think we would benefit from being gentler on ourselves and others in setting our expectations for what community looks like and how quickly it forms. My years in the classroom tell me that community takes patience & time.

As someone who's chatting with a lot of reporters lately, here's some free advice: when a high school journalist asks to speak with you, you always have the time to take that call. It will make your day a million times better.

Friends! Did you know that scientists found a tiny, adorable, underwater Mr. Snuffleupagus?! Meet Solenostomus snuffleupagus. 🤎💛

I'm glad community feedback is yielding course correction. I especially hope students who spoke up see the evidence that their voices matter! AND the risks are not only to young kids. Even Common Sense Media, usually a very moderate guide, has warned that the risks for teens are unacceptably high.

As a child, one reason I craved adulthood's arrival was the freedom to join self-selected communities. Having done that for 20+ years, I now find myself more able to attend to the ways I belong to communities I didn't choose. Here, Alicia shares wisdom on building community in unchosen spaces.

"Listen, next time, the flowers are naming themselves." ~Zaina Alsous

As someone who writes about community a lot but is also pretty introverted, I think we would benefit from being gentler on ourselves and others in setting our expectations for what community looks like and how quickly it forms. My years in the classroom tell me that community takes patience & time.

I recommend following @bdlimm.myatproto.social, especially if you're in NY. His posts consistently 1) provide useful info that is both nuanced and clear, 2) offer thoughtful, strategic, actionable direction, 3) and somehow also make me feel calmer and more grounded. A rare trifecta!

Hello from this slightly wet but unphased little cardinal, who stopped by after the rain.

"If I Must Die," by Refaat Alareer, is so powerful. Thank you for your beautiful reading @thrasherxy.bsky.social. This poem, along with the children of Gaza breaking a kite-flying world record in 2011, was the inspiration for "I Dream of a Million Kites." "let it bring hope let it be a tale."

Children understand more about the challenges of the world and of their future than adults are often comfortable acknowledging. If we want them to feel less alone in their understanding, we’ll have to get more comfortable honestly naming what they already know.

I recall that after Alex Pretti got murdered a woman at the vigil came up and gave me a sambusa and then comforted me when I sat down on the curb and cried. Food creates a connection between neighbors that's hard to explain. Also, I would take a bullet for the Sambusa Lady.

I almost drowned in a rip current when I was 7 years old. I remember the feeling this article describes and thinking no one would see me. Fortunately, a family friend did see me and understood what was happening. I was lucky. Read this.

How I became a #MutualAid snack stop for kids: In late 2022, I was COVID-conscious (just like now) and put out snacks for Xmas for all of the delivery people. I noticed they were taking a LOT of stuff but I shut it down in January 2023. But in 2023, "somebody" started sneaking around....

Every year, public schools serve 4.9 billion lunches at the cost of about $21,000,000 per year. Bezos said doubling taxes for billionaires like him wouldn't help. One year of doubled taxes would give kids free school lunches for 82 YEARS.

Every time a white person disengages from another white person, the regime gets stronger. I just published an essay about it. A defection map for the fight we're already in. White folks especially: read it, holler back, share it. medium.com/@ashleewooda...

This is absolutely true! These notes mean more than you know. Teachers are on the front lines of many tough fights right now, so these gestures of support are more important than ever. And this advice also holds true if you're a parent and you're grateful for the impact a teacher had on your child.

I wrote a new song for Eryka Caldwell and Juniper Blessing and every beautiful life taken from us too soon by transphobic violence. It's a work in progress, but I played it yesterday at a vigil outside the Massachusetts State House. We will honor our dead We will have our revenge

Personally, I'm grateful for all the teachers who spend their days building trust with students and helping them feel that their voices and their questions matter, so they know they are never ever a bother.

A Library of Congress Legacy Adam Coffey went to Washington, DC, to see The Source, a Library of Congress exhibit and research space for kids that was inspired by a letter he wrote at age 8. www.slj.com/story/newsfe...

This week I wrote about how one of David Attenborough’s darkest films had the surprising effect of giving my son more hope for the future. Sometimes hearing hard truths honestly and lovingly told makes us feel less alone, opening us up to the possibility that we could make things better together.

I’m coming to understand that maintaining hope is radical.

From one of @prisonculture.bsky.social ’s lovely essays, Dr. Sawin-

This week I wrote about how one of David Attenborough’s darkest films had the surprising effect of giving my son more hope for the future. Sometimes hearing hard truths honestly and lovingly told makes us feel less alone, opening us up to the possibility that we could make things better together.

This is a whole generation. The trauma these crimes against humanity is inflicting on these children, their families, entire communities, ecosystems, everyone who feels afraid -- will reverberate for generations to come.

Update! These guys take forever to open and will be gone in a blink. A good reminder to be patient and to appreciate the moment. #Spring #Bloomscrolling

Oklahoma just banned child marriage. A lot of the responses seem to indicate that it says something unique about Oklahoma to have waited so long. I wish this were true. Child marriage remains legal in 33 states — one of the reasons the US consistently fails global standards for children's rights.

We desperately need to get away from arguments for the humanities that elevate them because of what they do for technology. The humanities should not be understood as service disciplines. They are an extension of us, and that is enough.

Every time a story goes viral about a bigoted decision in a rural or exurban community, know that there are also people in that place (often rad teens) pushing back. www.wdtimes.com/news/local/w...

Nudging this note back up for the actual day. No matter what your relationship to mothering or being mothered might be — and for many of us it's complicated — we all have a part to play in care taking. And that is what the history of Mother's Day is really all about.

This fixation shapes teaching and learning at every level, even in the very youngest classrooms. The developmental psychologist, Jean Piaget, referred to this question of pace and impact in learning as "the American question" nearly a century ago.

Tomorrow is now tonight! This evening is your final opportunity to submit feedback to the DOE. Note that students can submit feedback, too. My NYC public school teen and I both reviewed the "guidance" and then each submitted our own response. (His was at least as excoriating as mine.)

"The past few years of being a new mom have taught me we need to do more than survive; the real magic comes with what we co-create with our children — the evidence that a better world is possible."

If you have a teacher in your life who inspired you to get after it, maybe take 2 minutes to write them a little note today. Let them know they planted a seed that’s still growing. 💌

My 1st grade science teacher sparked my early interest in science, made it seem obvious that I could be a scientist, made science welcoming. This was a BIG deal — literally changed my life.

If you’re going to the library to check out one of my books, why not pick up one from an author or illustrator you’ve never heard of? You might discover a new favorite! Banana!

This is a beautiful and important thread. It's worth reading, even if you are not a children's author and don't have the context of the specific incident that prompted it. Children's literature contributes so much good and is under so much fire.