2/15/2021

My Dear Friend & POTUS, JRB,

            It’s President’s Day, but I will be working. I’ll be participating in conference, Zooming with others to talk about a conference we had for student teacher supervisors (STS) in July 2020. STSs are the unsung heroes of teacher education as they act as coach & cheerleader while young teachers try to motivate students to stretch their minds & open their hearts. Training new teachers is tricky business, because we’d like new teachers to do a better job than their elders, but their elders serve as their guides into the profession, which tends to perpetuate the status quo. I could go on, but I only have 2000 characters.

            What will you be doing to help the people of Myanmar? Did you hear that there are armored vehicles into the streets & a protestor has been killed? The folks there are asking for our help. I am heartened by the fact that a large number of civil servants are refusing to work which means that taxes aren’t being collected. It’ll be interesting to see how long the military can function without income. Another positive is that the various ethnic minorities have joined the civil disobedience movement. Apparently, there are many ethnic factions, many of which are armed, so their alliance is remarkable. Please monitor the situation closely & consider taking some kind of action.

            What are your thoughts on the desecration of statues? Does it fall in the realm of civil disobedience or is it more egregious? I ask because our Ghandi statue was toppled & defaced last week.  It was donated to the City of Davis by the Indian Council of Cultural Relations in 2015. The Organization for Minorities of India group expressed their opposition to the statue at that time, so it’s possible that they are responsible for this action. The whole thing is troubling & our Davis Friends Meeting is discerning how to express our concerns in a way that shows compassion for all involved. Any suggestions?

            Stay warm today,

            PBWY,