#that's....rare in school

[inkskinned]

the thing about art is that it was always supposed to be about us, about the human-ness of us, the impossible and beautiful reality that we (for centuries) have stood still, transfixed by music. that we can close our eyes and cry about the same book passage; the events of which aren't real and never happened. theatre in shakespeare's time was as real as it is now; we all laugh at the same cue (pursued by bear), separated hundreds of years apart.

three years ago my housemates were jamming outdoors, just messing around with their instruments, mostly just making noise. our neighbors - shy, cautious, a little sheepish - sat down and started playing. i don't really know how it happened; i was somehow in charge of dancing, barefoot and laughing - but i looked up, and our yard was full of people. kids stacked on the shoulders of parents. old couples holding hands. someone had brought sidewalk chalk; our front walk became a riot of color. someone ran in with a flute and played the most astounding solo i've ever heard in my life, upright and wiggling, skipping as she did so. she only paused because the violin player was kicking his heels up and she was laughing too hard to continue.

two weeks ago my friend and i met in the basement of her apartment complex so she could work out a piece of choreography. we have a language barrier - i'm not as good at ASL as i'd like to be (i'm still learning!) so we communicate mostly through the notes app and this strange secret language of dancers - we have the same movement vocabulary. the two of us cracking jokes at each other, giggling. there were kids in the basement too, who had been playing soccer until we took up the far corner of the room. one by one they made their slow way over like feral cats - they laid down, belly-flat against the floor, just watching. my friend and i were not in tutus - we were in slouchy shirts and leggings and socks. nothing fancy. but when i asked the kids would you like to dance too? they were immediately on their feet and spinning. i love when people dance with abandon, the wild and leggy fervor of childhood. i think it is gorgeous.

their adults showed up eventually, and a few of them said hey, let's not bother the nice ladies. but they weren't bothering us, they were just having fun - so. a few of the adults started dancing awkwardly along, and then most of the adults. someone brought down a better sound system. someone opened a watermelon and started handing out slices. it was 8 PM on a tuesday and nothing about that day was particularly special; we might as well party.

one time i hosted a free "paint along party" and about 20 adults worked quietly while i taught them how to paint nessie. one time i taught community dance classes and so many people showed up we had to move the whole thing outside. we used chairs and coatracks to balance. one time i showed up to a random band playing in a random location, and the whole thing got packed so quickly we had to open every door and window in the place.

i don't think i can tell you how much people want to be making art and engaging with art. they want to, desperately. so many people would be stunning artists, but they are lied to and told from a very young age that art only matters if it is planned, purposeful, beautiful. that if you have an idea, you need to be able to express it perfectly. this is not true. you don't get only 1 chance to communicate. you can spend a lifetime trying to display exactly 1 thing you can never quite language. you can just express the "!!??!!!"-ing-ness of being alive; that is something none of us really have a full grasp on creating. and even when we can't make what we want - god, it feels fucking good to try. and even just enjoying other artists - art inherently rewards the act of participating.

i wasn't raised wealthy. whenever i make a post about art, someone inevitably says something along the lines of well some of us aren't that lucky. i am not lucky; i am dedicated. i have a chronic condition, my hands are constantly in pain. i am not neurotypical, nor was i raised safe. i worked 5-7 jobs while some of these memories happened. i chose art because it mattered to me more than anything on this fucking planet - i would work 80 hours a week just so i could afford to write in 3 of them.

and i am still telling you - if you are called to make art, you are called to the part of you that is human. you do not have to be good at it. you do not have to have enormous amounts of privilege. you can just... give yourself permission. you can just say i'm going to make something now and then - go out and make it. raquel it won't be good though that is okay, i don't make good things every time either. besides. who decides what good even is?

you weren't called to make something because you wanted it to be good, you were called to make something because it is a basic instinct. you were taught to judge its worth and over-value perfection. you are doing something impossible. a god's ability: from nothing springs creation.

a few months ago i found a piece of sidewalk chalk and started drawing. within an hour i had somehow collected a small classroom of young children. their adults often brought their own chalk. i looked up and about fifteen families had joined me from around the block. we drew scrangly unicorns and messed up flowers and one girl asked me to draw charizard. i am not good at drawing. i basically drew an orb with wings. you would have thought i drew her the mona lisa. she dragged her mother over and pointed and said look! look what she drew for me and, in the moment, i admit i flinched (sorry, i don't -). but the mother just grinned at me. he's beautiful. and then she sat down and started drawing.

someone took a picture of it. it was in the local newspaper. the summary underneath said joyful and spontaneous artwork from local artists springs up in public gallery. in the picture, a little girl covered in chalk dust has her head thrown back, delighted. laughing.

#writeblr #warm up #this is longer than i wanted i really considered removing that part about myself and what i went thru #but i think it really fucking bothers me that EVERY time i talk about being an artist #ppl assume i just like. had the skill and ability to drop everything and pay for grad school. #like sir i grew up poor. my house wasn't a safe space. i gave up a FREE RIDE TO LAW SCHOOL. for THIS. bc i chose it. #was it fucking hard? was i choosing the hard thing?? yes. #but we need to stop seeing artists as lazy layabouts that can ''afford'' to just ''sit around and create'' #when MANY - if not MOST - of us are NOT like that. we have to work our fucking ASSES off. hard work. long and hard work #part of valuing artists is recognizing the amount we sacrifice to make our art. bc it doesn't just #like HAPPEN to us. also btw it rarely has anything to do with true talent. #speaking as someone with a chronic condition i hate when ppl are like u have it easy. like actively as i'm writing this my hands r #ACTIVELY hurting me. i haven't been posting bc my left hand was curled in a claw for the last week #this isn't fucking luck. after a certain point it's not even TALENT. it's dedication & sacrifice. #''u get to flounce around and do nothing with ur life'' is a narrative that is a direct result of capitalism #imagine if we said that about literally any other profession. #''oh so u give up 10 yrs of ur life to be a doctor? u sacrifice having a social life and u get SUPER in debt? #u need to work countless hours and it will often be thankless? well i wish i was that lucky'' #we should be applying that logic to landlords ONLY #''oh ur mom and dad gave u the money to buy a house? and all u did was paint it white and rent it? huh.''

[reasonsforhope]

"Research on a police diversion program implemented in 2014 shows a striking 91% reduction in in-school arrests over less than 10 years.

Across the United States, arrest rates for young people under age 18 have been declining for decades. However, the proportion of youth arrests associated with school incidents has increased.

According to the U.S. Department of Education, K–12 schools referred nearly 230,000 students to law enforcement during the school year that began in 2017. These referrals and the 54,321 reported school-based arrests that same year were mostly for minor misbehavior like marijuana possession, as opposed to more serious offenses like bringing a gun to school.

School-based arrests are one part of the school-to-prison pipeline, through which students—especially Black and Latine students and those with disabilities—are pushed out of their schools and into the legal system.

Getting caught up in the legal system has been linked to negative health, social, and academic outcomes, as well as increased risk for future arrest.

Given these negative consequences, public agencies in states like Connecticut, New York, and Pennsylvania have looked for ways to arrest fewer young people in schools. Philadelphia, in particular, has pioneered a successful effort to divert youth from the legal system.

Philadelphia Police School Diversion Program

In Philadelphia, police department leaders recognized that the city’s school district was its largest source of referrals for youth arrests. To address this issue, then–Deputy Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel developed and implemented a school-based, pre-arrest diversion initiative in partnership with the school district and the city’s department of human services. The program is called the Philadelphia Police School Diversion Program, and it officially launched in May 2014.

Mayor-elect Cherelle Parker named Bethel as her new police commissioner on Nov. 22, 2023.

Since the diversion program began, when police are called to schools in the city for offenses like marijuana possession or disorderly conduct, they cannot arrest the student involved if that student has no pending court case or history of adjudication. In juvenile court, an adjudication is similar to a conviction in criminal court.

Instead of being arrested, the diverted student remains in school, and school personnel decide how to respond to their behavior. For example, they might speak with the student, schedule a meeting with a parent, or suspend the student.

A social worker from the city also contacts the student’s family to arrange a home visit, where they assess youth and family needs. Then, the social worker makes referrals to no-cost community-based services. The student and their family choose whether to attend.

Our team—the Juvenile Justice Research and Reform Lab at Drexel University—evaluated the effectiveness of the diversion program as independent researchers not affiliated with the police department or school district. We published four research articles describing various ways the diversion program affected students, schools, and costs to the city.

Arrests Dropped

In our evaluation of the diversion program’s first five years, we reported that the annual number of school-based arrests in Philadelphia decreased by 84%: from nearly 1,600 in the school year beginning in 2013 to just 251 arrests in the school year beginning in 2018.

Since then, school district data indicates the annual number of school-based arrests in Philadelphia has continued to decline—dropping to just 147 arrests in the school year that began in 2022. That’s a 91% reduction from the year before the program started.

We also investigated the number of serious behavioral incidents recorded in the school district in the program’s first five years. Those fell as well, suggesting that the diversion program effectively reduced school-based arrests without compromising school safety.

Additionally, data showed that city social workers successfully contacted the families of 74% of students diverted through the program during its first five years. Nearly 90% of these families accepted at least one referral to community-based programming, which includes services like academic support, job skill development, and behavioral health counseling...

Long-Term Outcomes

To evaluate a longer follow-up period, we compared the 427 students diverted in the program’s first year to the group of 531 students arrested before the program began. Results showed arrested students were significantly more likely to be arrested again in the following five years...

Finally, a cost-benefit analysis revealed that the program saves taxpayers millions of dollars.

Based on its success in Philadelphia, several other cities and counties across Pennsylvania have begun replicating the Police School Diversion Program. These efforts could further contribute to a nationwide movement to safely keep kids in their communities and out of the legal system."

-via Yes! Magazine, December 5, 2023

#philedelphia #pennsylvania #united states #us politics #school #high school #school to prison pipeline #prison system #arrests #education #students #schools #good news #hope #rare case of police not completely sucking #police #policing #law enforcement

[aevris]

also here is my generic relatable artist problems comic because i keep massively overdoing it on commissions

#you get one comic with the same punchline as 10000000 other comics and one with the rare take #that your high school art teacher was actually right to tell you to draw something besides anime #balance in all things

[lonicera-edulis]

A month ago I had a brief moment in dream where I was Bofur. Who forgot to put trousers on for some reason and made some joke which I didn't memorize sadly.

#the hobbit #I think I also had a son? #and it was in my old school #there were people walking around #anyway great dream thank you brain for this rare moment of fun 10/10 would like to know what joke I said though

[yuzuuu4]

what being separated for the first half of the second main quest does to a guy

[2-3] [4-6]

#me? double posting in a day? #this is rare. im just insane abt them today #ill probably go back into another hiatus because of school #but anyways me at TB38 farming for dan heng IL #im looking for all trash cans in belobog #dancae #dan heng #caelus #trailblazer #honkai star rail #hsr

[retroness-is-fabulous]

#1990s #90s #postcard #New york #NYC #aesthetic #city #travel #vtg #rare #retro #twin towers #world trade centers #old school #old postcard

[cubur]

For last year's fanzine〜🌻

#narusasu #naruto #sasuke #Naruto Uzumaki #Sasuke Uchiha #sns #fanzine #zine #sunflower #high school #bicycle #ice cream #one of the rare zines that i was able to finish by chance #my otp #my art

[vintage-tigre]

Hunter S Thompson, 1970

#hunter s thompson #aesthetic #vintage #too weird to live too rare to die #old school cool #style #60s icons #gonzo #american icon #rebel #renegade

[d-galactose]

emo lesbians ... save me emo lesbians

inspired by @uhrikatti 's art of emo narilamb

#cult of the lamb #cotl #cotl au #narilamb #whipped this out at 2 AM on a school night yipee #and im so sorry to all the emos out there i dont know what emo fashion is im just guessing my way through this #jun's rare art tag

[so-i-did-this-thing]

It was a little intimidating, but I asked my new barber to also do my beard today.

I feel like so many shaving tutorials for trans guys only cover the basics of using a razor and it's frustrating not knowing how best to shape your facial hair to suit your face.

It was nice to have someone who knows what they are doing set my beard line (hard to do when most guides assume you have a prominent adam's apple as a guiding point).

The barber also walked me through what guard settings he used on the clippers (you blend your beard instead of going all one length) and how I should continue to grow out my beard to get it more in the shape I'm looking for.

Highly recommend, worth the price. I feel better equipped now to maintain it on my own. His razor cut was also far gentler on my sensitive skin than anything I could manage on my own.

#trans stuff #transgender #trans man #was nice to have something affirming today given the recent Florida news #the hot towels were also nice #be aware friends who have never gone to a barber for a beard trim #that a face and/or shoulder massage is typical #especially if they are old school #it's a rare sort of intimacy but it can catch you offguard! #my face

[topazpearl]

one of the reasons why Ashlyn is my favorite character in sbg is that she's a girl and likes to do ballet (stereotypically very feminine) but is also tough as nails, wears army camo, has blades in her freakin shoes. a lot of girls in media are either one way or the other so it's really refreshing tbh

#sbg #school bus graveyard #ashlyn banner #its rare for me to have my fave char in a series be a girl #ramblings

[riesenfeldcenter]

Some unexpected marbling on two books (here and here) covering the trial of Lord Sackville, 1760.

#riesenfeld center #umn #university of minnesota law #university of minnesota law library #umn law #rare books #archives #special collections #law school #old books #marbling #beautiful book covers

[aerequets]

i know its weird to say ive been scrolling your account for 2 hours and i stumbled upon your old miraculous fanart but the love square to twiyor pipeline is REAL

1) I'm equal parts baffled and honored that you scrolled my blog for two hours because I didn't even know there was 2 hours worth of stuff to scroll through, let alone anyone willing to do that JDJAHA

2) AUGHHHH DONT CALL ME OUT okay call me out 😔 I like what I like

#actually i made an insane amount of miraculous art in middle/high school #(me making insane amounts of sxf fanart) #this is just what i do #i have one longstanding interest that takes over my drawing brain and its 99% of what i draw until i move on #i watch other things on the side but very rarely #it gets boring sometimes bc ill have nothing to watch or do but. more time for homework I guess LOL #thank you for this ask #spy x family #miraculous #twiyor #ml love square

[speedlimit15]

Are kids really being shown pragerU videos in public schools or is that something ppl are just panicking about because pragerU produces children’s content

#is there a way to know? do schools currently need to approve each individual teachers teaching aides? I always assumed videos we watched we #were vetted to some degree — from what I recall every school had standardized textbooks with specific tie in material and rarely did we #watch anything outside of that unless it was a free day or something

[lilsageart]

Ｉ　ｄｏｎ’ｔ　ｔｈｉｎｋ　ｙｏｕ　ｋｎｏｗ　ｔｈａｔ　ｍｙ　ｈｅａｒｔ’ｓ　ｓｏｆｔ．

#anime #anime aesthetic #retro anime girl #90s anime #80s anime #anime gif #anime nostalgia #rare anime gifs #vintage gifs #old school anime #retro anime #cute anime girl #anime fans #anime world #anime character #vintage anime gif #80s anime aesthetic #90s anime aesthetic #aesthetic girl #retro wave

[batmanego]

god held his face & knew him & it still didn’t save him

#as I said on discord: EXCEEDINGLY RARE SCOTTPOSTING #Scott summers #Charles Xavier #<- kind of. Lol #x men #my arts #alternate title: I. HATE. XAVIERS SCHOOL. ALL THE TEACHERS MAKE ME FIRE EYE LASERS AT PEOPLE AND YELL ‘GO WHITE BOY GO’