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Given the complex and interrelated developments in our world over the last few years and our shared interest in making sure Bay Farm prepares our children well for that world, the board of trustees at Bay Farm has extended an invitation to our parent community to engage in a virtual conversation so that together, we can strengthen our partnership in building the foundations for our children’s Montessori education now and in the future. Last year, the topics of race, equity, and social justice, a shared notion of truth and mutual trust, and the rising influence of disinformation campaigns knocked on our door, and rather than shrink from opening them, we invite you all to join us as we grapple with these challenges, and figure out what they mean for our school.
Past Community Conversations:
Family Resources:
Below are some recommended readings that the Bay Farm staff has all read as part of Summer Reading assignments and Book Club.
Videos:
The 3 design elements that make smartphones so hard to put down, explained by Google’s former design ethicist.
You will change the way you use any form of media after you hear this. Why? Because you are the media. Yes, you are responsible for everything you see online, in print, and on TV... even so-called fake news.
Our lives, our cultures, are composed of many overlapping stories. Novelist Chimamanda Adichie tells the story of how she found her authentic cultural voice -- and warns that if we hear only a single story about another person or country, we risk a critical misunderstanding.
The more we read and watch online, the harder it becomes to tell the difference between what's real and what's fake. It's as if we know more but understand less, says philosopher Michael Patrick Lynch. In this talk, he dares us to take active steps to burst our filter bubbles and participate in the common reality that actually underpins everything.
Over the last year, Priya Vulchi and Winona Guo traveled to all 50 US states, collecting personal stories about race and intersectionality. Now they're on a mission to equip every American with the tools to understand, navigate and improve a world structured by racial division. In a dynamic talk, Vulchi and Guo pair the personal stories they've collected with research and statistics to reveal two fundamental gaps in our racial literacy -- and how we can overcome them.
Bay Farm Stands in Solidarity
Bay Farm Montessori Academy stands in solidarity with all black lives suffering at the hands of systemic racism. The atrocious injustice of senseless killings taking place across our country, like the most recent murder of George Floyd, is a constant reminder of the legacy of our country's history of enslavement and centuries of discrimination against people of African descent. Racism is everyone's problem. We support Dr. Maria Montessori's belief that schools are essential to constructive social reform. We agree that all children are born with natural tendencies toward peace and justice and that children have an innate capacity to change the world. Our responsibility as a school is to fortify this capacity with love, and guidance, and to set a good example. As a school, we commit to examining our blind spots, whether in our curriculum, our conversations, or our actions. We will amplify the underrepresented voices in the stories we tell, and the lessons we learn. As a Montessori school, we commit to our responsibility to model conscious decision-making that results in daily, consistent, equitable choices to be anti-racist. Our school's only path forward is to seek the right steps to breaking the cycle of systematic racism and to reinforce that Black Lives Matter. Bay Farm Diversity Statement: Modeled by faculty and administrators, peers, and parents, our school is energized by a fundamental belief in the importance of respect. Bay Farm Montessori Academy does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, creed, color, ethnicity, national origin, citizenship status, disability, physical challenge, age, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, weight, or any other characteristic. Bay Farm is committed to creating an open, diverse community of learners, able to question, value, and appreciate the human experience. George Floyd is a constant reminder of the legacy of our country's history of enslavement and centuries of discrimination against people of African descent.
Racism is everyone's problem. We support Dr. Maria Montessori's belief that schools are essential to constructive social reform. We agree that all children are born with natural tendencies toward peace and justice and that children have an innate capacity to change the world. Our responsibility as a school is to fortify this capacity with love, and guidance, and to set a good example.
As a school, we commit to examining our blind spots, whether in our curriculum, our conversations, or our actions. We will amplify the underrepresented voices in the stories we tell, and the lessons we learn. As a Montessori school, we commit to our responsibility to model conscious decision-making that results in daily, consistent, equitable choices to be anti-racist.
Our school's only path forward is to seek the right steps to breaking the cycle of systematic racism and to reinforce that Black Lives Matter.
Bay Farm Diversity Statement: Modeled by faculty and administrators, peers, and parents, our school is energized by a fundamental belief in the importance of respect. Bay Farm Montessori Academy does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, creed, color, ethnicity, national origin, citizenship status, disability, physical challenge, age, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, weight, or any other characteristic. Bay Farm is committed to creating an open, diverse community of learners, able to question, value, and appreciate the human experience.