Bronwyn Harris, Author

Some of the questions the littler boy has asked me. He's never been to camp; before and is a little nervous.

Do they have toilet paper?Can I only go for one day?Can I bring my DVD player?Can I skip camp so I can watch my TV program?Will they feed me?Do they have Gatorade?Are there girls?Can I bring a chair?Can I use your sleeping bag?Does my brother have to go?Are there bears?

I had a lovely birthday dinner/dessert celebration tonight (birthday's on Monday) and was about ready to go to bed when I got a call. The 14 year old kid of the family I've been working with has been arrested. For drinking and driving. At age 14. (Barely).

His mom is, understandably, freaking out. She's been working as hard as she can to keep the family together. They have nowhere to live after August 31 and no money to find somewhere. She doesn't have a bank account or credit history so most places wouldn't rent to her even if she did have the money. She's a recovering addict trying to stay clean through both of her boys watching their friend be murdered, be in danger themselves, have to relocate, and deal with the anger/fear/guilt that comes from seeing a friend be killed. Now her oldest one is in bigger trouble.

I'm so angry at him, because he knows better. He took the car keys when she was sleeping and went with his cousin who was staying with t…

Decisions children should be able to make:
Which outfit to wear on a particular day (if parents have bought the clothes)
What to eat for snack (if parents have chosen the options)Which TV show to watch (with parental approval)Which sport to playWhich flavor of toothpaste to use
Decisions children should NOT be able to make:
Which guardian to live withWhere it is safe for them to liveWhich school they are going to go toWhether they should go to school or not
If they get a cell phone or notIf their mom gets a cell phone or notIf they should be punished or have any consequences for being rudeWhat their parents should buy for them
If they should go to counseling or not

Guess which set is the set of decisions that I've seen kids make over and over and over. And over.

That's the nickname of the younger kid I've been working with, "Luis." He's been going to the science day camp program at Chabot Space and Science center, and it is incredible. He wasn't sure he wanted to go last week, and his brother totally flaked out. Poison Oak, however (it's fun to type that) made it, although a day late. He had a stomachache on Monday, which I suspect was an excuse to not try something new/nervousness. On Tuesday, he was really nervous but he went. When I picked him up, he talked the whole way home about how much he loved it and how he couldn't even imagine being mad because he was so happy.

On Thursday, Luis told me he wanted to go again next week. I told him that we didn't have the money (my friend and I paid for half of the camp and Chabot gave him a scholarship for the other half) but that he could go next year. However, the next day, the director offered to transfer the amount paid for his brother so that Luis co…

I've been watching some old Weeds episodes (don't question my taste in shows, it's entertaining) and I had to share this quote:

Uncle: Now, what do they teach you in school?

Kid: How to pass the weekly standardized tests to get the school more funding?


Oh, I wish that wasn't so funny for being true.

I promised I'd include a link to the trip to DC that was taken by my new favorite middle school in the district. Sounds like it was a great experience for everyone involved!

...teaching kids who aren't white that they are worth less than white kids?

Minorities not allowed in a Philadelphia club's poolBlack dolls priced less than white dolls (pretty good object lesson in not being worth as much)Black children (and adults) who go missing are underreported while white kids often get 24/7 news coverage
If you think this isn't affecting children, or that I'm a crazy liberal who's making too much of it, I suggest you work with children of color for a year and then report back. In the eight years I taught at the school in the inner city, I heard countless - and I actually mean countless - instances of kids complimenting each other on light skin, lamenting dark skin and kinky hair, talking about "good hair," talking about wishing they were white, commenting on how much prettier white people are, how much more money they have, how it's better to be white, how the police would treat them differently if they were white, how the schoo…