ThePaisleyChair

I loved reading about Selena Joy. She was such a real character to me. I have had so many people in my life just like her.

Thank you so much for your work. We read The Handmaid's Tale in a Science Fiction and American History class. It really helped the students think through gender roles in a way they hadn't been able to articulate before.

Pretty sure Edmund is secretly Stepford.

I'm curious. I'm sold on the idea that we often see a defeatist "I can't" rather than "I don't know how" attitude. The more a student thinks that s/he cannot do something, the harder it will be for him/her to do it. That I get.

But I think you're missing some larger issues that make the education system work for some and not for others. Poverty rates among Asian children is much lower than the national average, for example. Students living in the zone for a failing school don't always have the opportunity to get into a better school. The two "model minorities" you've cherry picked here tend to have better access to resources like educated community members, wealth, and political power, as well. How do you account for issues other than "believing they can" in your "it comes from their culture" argument? Things like poverty, location, incarceration rates, job opportunities?

Have you talked with people trained in education research, pedagogy, or child psychology? Do you work with teachers?

Don't get me wrong, please. I'm not attacking what you're doing. I think it's great to bring an awareness that all students can. But I'm a little concerned that your selling tactics present this as a panacea for an enormous problem and that by doing so, it A) discounts enormous obstacles and says "Oh you can if you just try!," B) sets your system up for not doing as well as it could by ignoring outside factors, and C) comes across as uninformed and naive.

What happened? It was a fantastic show.