By Kate Hayden We recently celebrated my son’s 9th birthday last week. It was a small, family focused affair where the gifts focused on shared experience versus isolating technology (board games, tickets to sporting events, and of course science kits; etc..) So later that evening, when my son came into my room and asked “Do people sometimes make two wishes on their birthday, or is it always just one.” I groaned inwardly. He didn’t get the newest video gaming system that he asked for and of course he is hoping that special birthday wish would do the trick… “No buddy, everyone just gets one wish” Seemingly resigned to his ill-fated future of nights filled with uno and capture the flag with his middle-aged parents in the backyard, he quietly retreated to his room. A little bit later, as I prepared for bed myself, I went to tuck him in only to find him crying quietly. Alarmed I asked, “What’s wrong buddy?” “I messed up!” He cried “I can’t make two wishes and I made a mistake!” Sighing, I sat down beside him and began stroking his hair. “Oh hun, it is okay. We can figure this out.” But when it became obvious that he was significantly distressed I prompted him “Okay, maybe you need to tell me what the second wish is and we can talk about it”. “I CAN’T! It wont come true!” was his vehement response, his eyes wide and pleading. “Oh honey, that is just something people say, it really doesn’t matter. If this is affecting you this much, then we need to talk about it.” He exclaimed “You made it worse! Now neither wish will come true?” “Oh no, that isn’t what I meant... I mean if you tell me what you wanted to wish for then we can work together to come up with a plan to make it come true” Mind you, I am still mentally preparing for him to ask for this virtual reality gaming system and already working on a chore-based payment system for him in my mind. After a few minutes of coaxing and tears, his response still echoes in my heart today “I wished that we would be happy forever.” “That’s an amazing selfless and empathetic wish honey!” Pride swelling in my eyes. “But I should have made a second wish! That you and daddy will never die!” And I was devastated. Obviously, we spent some time discussing his wishes… but later a lesson evolved from this exchange that resonated: We should always give voice to our wishes. Here was my 9-year-old son, wrestling with the anxiety of this wish by himself because he felt if he spoke it aloud it would never come true. It is heartbreaking to imagine, and I am pretty sure this is something we have all experienced ourselves. But the only way we can make our wishes and our dreams a reality is to speak them aloud. This whole concept of “shhh, don’t say it or it won’t come true” is just wrong. We should declare what it is we want to see happen loudly so that other people can hear it and have the opportunity to join with us and share in making that wish a reality. Giving voice to a wish is essentially grant writing. It is finding the people who also find value in your wish and who are willing to put in the same amount of work, sweat, worry and heartache. People who are willing to research the issue that needs change and design a plan of action to make that wish come true. And then convey that need and plan to complete strangers so they can fund that shared wish. Wishing should never be a solo sport. So what is our wish? Simply put, it is to construct a curriculum for middle schoolers to engage with their local community while learning about and enjoying science! Simple right? We all know it is the words “engage” and “enjoy” that give us pause, especially for tweens. How do we get middle schoolers to engage civically and enjoy science, or really enjoy anything adults tell them to enjoy for that matter? Well, our idea is why not let them use science to solve a problem that they believe is plaguing their own community. Allow them to give voice to their own wishes for change while they in turn learn about the history of their own communities, the principles of environmental (in)justice and climate change, and even a little science too. And crazily enough, the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine agreed with us and funded our wish. So, the purpose of this blog is to chronicle our process, and to continue giving voice to our wish in hopes that others will join us. While Africatown is the community we chose to pilot this project in, our hope is that we can expand this project to other marginalized and disenfranchised communities along the Gulf Coast and throughout the US to prepare civically engaged and scientifically trained leaders for the next generation. Since getting funded, we have traveled to Africatown and Mobile multiple times to meet and speak with city leaders, community activists, educators, environmentalists, and other academics. And while all have been eager to collaborate with us and have provided us with even more people to network with… nearly all have asked us the same questions: “Why you? Why Africatown? Why now?” With the recent discovery of the Clotilda, residents and local activists are rightfully wary of outsiders who are looking to exploit their story for short term profit. It is my hope that this debut blog post not only sets the scene for what it is we want to do, but also authentically addresses these important questions to our readers. Over the course of the next week, we will be releasing posts that address these three questions:
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AuthorThis is a collaborative blog with multiple authors from our community of practice focused on the community of Africatown in Mobile, Al. Archives
August 2023
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