Yeah, we had a walkout at my school today, and every teacher I talked to was totally supportive -- most of us walked out with the kids.

There was an interesting question raised, actually, in our middle school. Students had brought home permission slips for their parents to fill out if they were planning to walk out, both to gauge the numbers and also to get parents involved in the conversation, to provide an opening for students to talk to their parents about the walkout and what it means. Some parents decided not to fill out the permission slips because they felt that if their child had *permission* to walk out, then it wasn't really a protest. (In response, the middle school decided not to enforce the permission slip requirement.)

I think several of us wondered whether or not our support and participation ran the risk of sanitizing the protest. But on the other hand, most of us feel quite strongly about keeping guns out of schools and the need for better gun control, and it would have felt wrong and counterproductive to *not* do what we could to accommodate and support students who wanted to participate. (Yes, we are almost certainly the most liberal and progressive school in the Nashville area. There's a reason I wanted to work here!)

In the end, it was a pretty powerful moment: 17 minutes of silence, with only very brief remarks by a couple of HS students before and afterwards. I wouldn't have guessed that our students could stay silent for 17 minutes, but they did -- which I think speaks to how heavily this issue weighs on them.

I wondered that, too, Kate -- Sara's school was very much involved in planning and coordinating the walkout, to the point that it didn't seem student-led to me, which I didn't think was really fair. And I'm not sure how it went -- Sara is actually home with a sinus and ear infection, so.

I am glad that the district supported it -- very vocally -- though.

Interesting. I don't see students, typically, so I have no idea how all that is going around here. None of my coworkers have mentioned their kids walking out or not, but that doesn't mean much, I don't think.

Our "word of the month" is Collaboration, so we spent some time today discussing how we can collaborate better, etc. I guess I'm the only one cringing and thinking of Nazis. The rest of our Guiding Principles don't bother me, at least.

I talked about the walkout with Matilda this morning and was careful to make it clear that (a) she didn't need my permission and (b) she didn't need her teacher's permission. That was the point.

It's been a hot topic of discussion on the local parenting FB group - most are supportive of their high school students walking out, some were wary about safety concerns for elementary kids.

Wow, 17 minutes worth of fast-paced teaching?! Sounds like a good price to pay if it ends up in you NOT GETTING SHOT.

Could you ask the 17-minute teacher if she plans on getting armed any time soon? Pretty please?

It looks like students in all the schools near me walked out today. Good for them!

In π news, two coworkers brought five pies for our team. Mmmmm. And I have savory pie (Upper Peninsula pasties) for dinner. So I feel sufficiently pied.

Could you ask the 17-minute teacher if she plans on getting armed any time soon? Pretty please?

She's a gun nut, so I think that bitching about her students missing 17 crucial minutes of her precious instruction is just a cover, because she's smart enough to know how shitty it would look if she said she didn't think students should protest in order to save their lives. And she probably thinks she would be able to take down a gunman no problem.

Not to distract from natter about the walkout--which, I'm so proud of I just can't express it--but I've been thinking and here's where I need to express what I've been thinking about.

I've been remembering the inauguration, the solemn, somber, and somewhat sorrowful transfer of authority, and the gleeful celebration of having grabbed the brass ring out of the hands of thoughtful and deliberate public servants. And here's the thing.

If by some miracle, we manage to actually *have* elections in 2020, and gerrymandering hasn't managed to engineer liberal Democrats out of their votes, and we motivate Voters Who Think to get to the polls and actually vote 45 out of office?

I don't want a peaceful, pomp and circumstance transfer of power on inauguration day. I want a perp walk. Can we do that? Who's with me?

That would be so sweet, Beverly.