blackgirl on mars: notes on a life in copenhagen (or how my alienation brings me closer to people).

bandit garden! So the lockout is over! That means that today, for the first time in 4 weeks, Danish teachers who belonged to a union were legally allowed to go to work!  Personally, as someone who has worked in the education sector for the past 10 years, I do have a lot of thoughts not only about the lockout, but on teaching and the state of education, in general.  I had to run an errand today, and the clerk looked awfully familiar to me. I asked, do I know you?  "You used to work at XX, " she recognized me. It turns out she used to attend one of the schools I used to work at. She's Danish, although of Pakistani roots. We got into a lively discussion about her education experience and what life has been like for her since graduating from this very expensive institution. I asked her, "Did you feel that you were prepared for what was next?" She told me that when she graduated, she was the only student who had been at that school for 10 years straigh...

Ireland, USA & Scotland representing all the wonderful professional teachers who have been locked out of their place of work by the Danish government Hawaii representing all the dedicated Danish teachers who the Government has locked out.  Over 30,000 teachers demonstrated today against the government's decision to lock them out of their workplace on April 2nd. Yup, you read that correctly: The Danish government actually locked all of their teachers out of their place of work. Why? Well, in order to understand why, you'd have to get into what is becoming an increasingly detectable pattern: the infantilizing of a population by its government. Why would a government want to infantilize its citizens? Well, to control it, of course.  Historically, Denmark is one of the few countries who can truly say that the profession of teaching is still somewhat respected. First of all, to become a teacher here is no small deal. One would have to go through a 4 year pro...

When I started this blog...who knows how many years ago? I knew what I wanted to express: I wanted to create a commercial-free space to demonstrate the inner-thoughts of a human being, in a particular skin, from a particular background, in a new, particular space. What has come out of this experience is quite interesting, indeed. How could it be any less? I have always known that I was a writer. For me, it was more about contemplating issues that once crystalized, could be shared with my fellow human, to bring us closer to truly understanding who we are. So I sought out experiences which I thought would give me greater insight into, well, life. For instance, I didn't go to college to get a degree to secure a higher paying job. I went to college to, well, forgive me, learn. All my life I have wanted to test difference, have insisted on looking at dominant narratives with fresh, new perspectives, promoting inclusion and insisting on the possibility of change. I have shared my ...