Our Best Intentions

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Our Best Intentions

I am a 30 something white male. At least that is how I am perceived on-line by those I have never met. As such, I often wonder about perception and intention. My great great great grandfather was the first black mayor of Toronto. Just last year a park was dedicated to him and my Nana and Mom were invited to the tape cutting.

A proud moment.

But that doesn’t mean I know a thing about being black. I do not. I know nothing. Zilch. Nadda.

I’ve done a great deal of reflecting in recent months after a bit of a twitter debate. If you follow me on twitter, you’ll recognize my love of coding, inspiration, quotes and classroom activities.

It was one of my quotes that set someone off.

But that wasn’t my intention.

Doesn’t matter.

Sometimes even our best intentions can be detrimental. Sometimes our best decisions can have very negative affects on student learning. Sometimes what we mean does not carry the same definition with those we interact with.

We all have lived our own experiences. We have our own bias. We have our own perception. We have our own views. We have our own morals.

Truth is, many of our kids have seen more in their short life than we will ever see in ours. And that’s a fact.

If you have never heard of Justine Sacco, give this a read.

How One Stupid Tweet Blew Up Justine Sacco’s Life

Heading into the weekend, please remember that not all students want to go home. For some, school is the only safe place. For many educators, that is incredibly difficult to relate to.

Sometimes even our best intentions can be detrimental.

Check out this TED Talk on the story of Justine.

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