Blog Type your email… Subscribe Disclaimer: This blog is a collection of opinions of various individuals. WAESN believe in the ability to hold multiple truths; therefore, some blog posts may not reflect the beliefs of WAESN as an organization. We also believe the political nature of education is nuanced and needs to be addressed as such. We believe the goal of Ethnic Studies is to dismantle oppressive systems which requires ongoing critique of education leaders, organizations, and institutions. This website and blog are funded by our 501(c)(4) organization and WAESN is not affiliated with any political party. Breaking the Chains: Navigating Systemic Racism in Education and STEM Fields This month’s post comes from a student of Dr. Castro-Gill’s American Ethnic Studies course at the University of Washington. It is written by a student who requested anonymity to protect them from hateful retaliation from white supremacists. In this class, some of the topics and takeaways we talked about were how racism is real and systemic, anti-Blackness is real and perpetuated by all non-Black… Keep reading December 4, 2023December 4, 2023 Asian American Anti-Blackness This month’s post comes from a student of Dr. Castro-Gill’s American Ethnic Studies course at the University of Washington. It is written by a student who requested anonymity to protect them from hateful retaliation from white supremacists. When the “Stop Asian Hate” movement began to gain traction in 2021 in response to an uptick in anti-Asian racism during the COVID-19 pandemic, something about it… Keep reading November 7, 2023November 7, 2023 Reclaiming Our Hidden Truths: The revolution of remembering This month’s post comes from a student of Dr. Castro-Gill’s American Ethnic Studies course at the University of Washington. It is written by Rossy Sierra. The idea of counternarratives has stuck with me since class. We should be able to tell our stories for the simple fact that they are ours. I am in agreement that BIPOC individuals should be able to learn from… Keep reading October 11, 2023October 11, 2023 If You Believe Anything the Daily Wire Publishes, You Deserve Nothing But Ridicule; A response to Luke Rosiak’s irresponsible “journalism” by Dr. Tracy Castro-Gill Part Three: Rick This is the third installment of a 3-part series that breaks down the bullshit that Luke Rosiak tries to pass off as journalism. This third and final installment covers the most personal of attacks—attacks on my identity made by my father, Richard Castro. I have asked him several times to make a public statement, but he refuses,… Keep reading September 6, 2023September 7, 2023 If You Believe Anything the Daily Wire Publishes, You Deserve Nothing But Ridicule; A response to Luke Rosiak’s irresponsible “journalism” by Dr. Tracy Castro-Gill Part Two: Rosiak This is the second installment of a 3-part series that breaks down the bullshit that Luke Rosiak tries to pass off as journalism. Part two directly contradicts his “reporting” of my work as the Ethnic Studies Program Manager in Seattle Public Schools. I think what’s most embarrassing for Rosiak is that most of this information is easy… Keep reading August 18, 2023August 19, 2023 If You Believe Anything the Daily Wire Publishes, You Deserve Nothing But Ridicule; A response to Luke Rosiak’s irresponsible “journalism” by Dr. Tracy Castro-Gill Part One: Ron It’s been about a year and a half since Ben Shapiro’s The Daily Wire published a hit piece on me titled, Meet the Seattle Schools Woke Indoctrination Czar Who Married a Child Molester. It is an excerpt from a book written by Luke Rosiak called Race to the Bottom: Uncovering the Secret Forces Destroying American Education. When… Keep reading August 10, 2023August 10, 2023 Breaking the Model Minority Myth This month’s post comes from a student of Dr. Castro-Gill’s American Ethnic Studies course at the University of Washington. It is written by Sophia Mai. By taking AES 340 – Race, Ethnicity, and Education, I have learned about how systems of oppression, especially racism and classism (which are intrinsically linked due to the historical and systemic oppression of Black Indigenous people of color) affects… Keep reading July 13, 2023July 13, 2023 Olympia, Washington’s 2023 Legislative Session Recap: 105 days of purgatory? By the WAESN Legislative Committee It’s a wrap! Or is it? After a 105 day session from January 9th to April 23rd, retiring Governor, Jay Inslee, called legislators back for a special session to pass legislation near and dear to our hearts: a wealth tax, free school lunches, special education funding, and ending isolation of minors. Just kidding. Jay Inslee called back legislators to… Keep reading June 15, 2023June 16, 2023 The Sanitizing Effect of “Colorblindness” This month’s post comes from a student of Dr. Castro-Gill’s American Ethnic Studies course at the University of Washington. It is written by Kaili Rayne Lamb. Week one of AES 340 has delved into deep systemic issues in education concerning race and ethnicity, especially the root of race itself. One topic that I am interested in is the danger of a “race-neutral” or colorblind… Keep reading May 2, 2023May 2, 2023 How to Steal Candy Ethically by Ariana Pasalic Ariana is the recipient of our Youth Scholarship Essay Contest for the 5th and 6th grade. She is a 6th grade student at McClure Middle School in Seattle. Her essay below is in response to the prompt created by the WAESN Youth Advisory Board (YAB): Tell us about a time you broke the rules and why. Ariana’s essay was selected by… Keep reading April 5, 2023April 5, 2023 Vulnerable Circumstances; giving grace to teachers tackling racism A new-to-the-profession education, Jessica Dunker, taught a lesson on racial slurs to her English language learners. She was caught in the conservative crosshairs because of a still shot of the lesson that went viral. Yes, we need to continue to teach about racism even when we make mistakes, and yes, we are going to make them – even educators of color. The following was… Keep reading March 20, 2023March 20, 2023 Community Voice by Max Ratza Max is the recipient of our Youth Scholarship Essay Contest for the 7th and 8th grade. They are an 8th grade student at McClure Middle School in Seattle. Their essay below is in response to the prompt created by the WAESN Youth Advisory Board (YAB): Tell us about a time you broke the rules and why. Max’s essay was selected by… Keep reading March 9, 2023March 9, 2023 Defend Bruce: Sign the Petition written by members of the Seattle Caucus of Rank-and-file Educators (SCORE) *Signing the petition sends an email in your name to Seattle Public Schools administrators and board directors. You can read the message by clicking on “Read the Petition” in the box below. During Black Lives Matter at School week on February 9, 2023, Seattle Public Schools (SPS) unjustly fired a Black educator, Bruce… Keep reading March 5, 2023March 23, 2023 I Am Not a Rule Breaker By Emily Vo Emily is the recipient of our Youth Scholarship Essay Contest for the 9th and 10th grade. They are a sophomore at Cleveland STEM High School in Seattle. Their essay below is in response to the prompt created by the WAESN Youth Advisory Board (YAB): Tell us about a time you broke the rules and why. Emily’s essay was selected by a… Keep reading February 3, 2023February 3, 2023 Load more posts Loading… Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.
Breaking the Chains: Navigating Systemic Racism in Education and STEM Fields This month’s post comes from a student of Dr. Castro-Gill’s American Ethnic Studies course at the University of Washington. It is written by a student who requested anonymity to protect them from hateful retaliation from white supremacists. In this class, some of the topics and takeaways we talked about were how racism is real and systemic, anti-Blackness is real and perpetuated by all non-Black… Keep reading December 4, 2023December 4, 2023
Asian American Anti-Blackness This month’s post comes from a student of Dr. Castro-Gill’s American Ethnic Studies course at the University of Washington. It is written by a student who requested anonymity to protect them from hateful retaliation from white supremacists. When the “Stop Asian Hate” movement began to gain traction in 2021 in response to an uptick in anti-Asian racism during the COVID-19 pandemic, something about it… Keep reading November 7, 2023November 7, 2023
Reclaiming Our Hidden Truths: The revolution of remembering This month’s post comes from a student of Dr. Castro-Gill’s American Ethnic Studies course at the University of Washington. It is written by Rossy Sierra. The idea of counternarratives has stuck with me since class. We should be able to tell our stories for the simple fact that they are ours. I am in agreement that BIPOC individuals should be able to learn from… Keep reading October 11, 2023October 11, 2023
If You Believe Anything the Daily Wire Publishes, You Deserve Nothing But Ridicule; A response to Luke Rosiak’s irresponsible “journalism” by Dr. Tracy Castro-Gill Part Three: Rick This is the third installment of a 3-part series that breaks down the bullshit that Luke Rosiak tries to pass off as journalism. This third and final installment covers the most personal of attacks—attacks on my identity made by my father, Richard Castro. I have asked him several times to make a public statement, but he refuses,… Keep reading September 6, 2023September 7, 2023
If You Believe Anything the Daily Wire Publishes, You Deserve Nothing But Ridicule; A response to Luke Rosiak’s irresponsible “journalism” by Dr. Tracy Castro-Gill Part Two: Rosiak This is the second installment of a 3-part series that breaks down the bullshit that Luke Rosiak tries to pass off as journalism. Part two directly contradicts his “reporting” of my work as the Ethnic Studies Program Manager in Seattle Public Schools. I think what’s most embarrassing for Rosiak is that most of this information is easy… Keep reading August 18, 2023August 19, 2023
If You Believe Anything the Daily Wire Publishes, You Deserve Nothing But Ridicule; A response to Luke Rosiak’s irresponsible “journalism” by Dr. Tracy Castro-Gill Part One: Ron It’s been about a year and a half since Ben Shapiro’s The Daily Wire published a hit piece on me titled, Meet the Seattle Schools Woke Indoctrination Czar Who Married a Child Molester. It is an excerpt from a book written by Luke Rosiak called Race to the Bottom: Uncovering the Secret Forces Destroying American Education. When… Keep reading August 10, 2023August 10, 2023
Breaking the Model Minority Myth This month’s post comes from a student of Dr. Castro-Gill’s American Ethnic Studies course at the University of Washington. It is written by Sophia Mai. By taking AES 340 – Race, Ethnicity, and Education, I have learned about how systems of oppression, especially racism and classism (which are intrinsically linked due to the historical and systemic oppression of Black Indigenous people of color) affects… Keep reading July 13, 2023July 13, 2023
Olympia, Washington’s 2023 Legislative Session Recap: 105 days of purgatory? By the WAESN Legislative Committee It’s a wrap! Or is it? After a 105 day session from January 9th to April 23rd, retiring Governor, Jay Inslee, called legislators back for a special session to pass legislation near and dear to our hearts: a wealth tax, free school lunches, special education funding, and ending isolation of minors. Just kidding. Jay Inslee called back legislators to… Keep reading June 15, 2023June 16, 2023
The Sanitizing Effect of “Colorblindness” This month’s post comes from a student of Dr. Castro-Gill’s American Ethnic Studies course at the University of Washington. It is written by Kaili Rayne Lamb. Week one of AES 340 has delved into deep systemic issues in education concerning race and ethnicity, especially the root of race itself. One topic that I am interested in is the danger of a “race-neutral” or colorblind… Keep reading May 2, 2023May 2, 2023
How to Steal Candy Ethically by Ariana Pasalic Ariana is the recipient of our Youth Scholarship Essay Contest for the 5th and 6th grade. She is a 6th grade student at McClure Middle School in Seattle. Her essay below is in response to the prompt created by the WAESN Youth Advisory Board (YAB): Tell us about a time you broke the rules and why. Ariana’s essay was selected by… Keep reading April 5, 2023April 5, 2023
Vulnerable Circumstances; giving grace to teachers tackling racism A new-to-the-profession education, Jessica Dunker, taught a lesson on racial slurs to her English language learners. She was caught in the conservative crosshairs because of a still shot of the lesson that went viral. Yes, we need to continue to teach about racism even when we make mistakes, and yes, we are going to make them – even educators of color. The following was… Keep reading March 20, 2023March 20, 2023
Community Voice by Max Ratza Max is the recipient of our Youth Scholarship Essay Contest for the 7th and 8th grade. They are an 8th grade student at McClure Middle School in Seattle. Their essay below is in response to the prompt created by the WAESN Youth Advisory Board (YAB): Tell us about a time you broke the rules and why. Max’s essay was selected by… Keep reading March 9, 2023March 9, 2023
Defend Bruce: Sign the Petition written by members of the Seattle Caucus of Rank-and-file Educators (SCORE) *Signing the petition sends an email in your name to Seattle Public Schools administrators and board directors. You can read the message by clicking on “Read the Petition” in the box below. During Black Lives Matter at School week on February 9, 2023, Seattle Public Schools (SPS) unjustly fired a Black educator, Bruce… Keep reading March 5, 2023March 23, 2023
I Am Not a Rule Breaker By Emily Vo Emily is the recipient of our Youth Scholarship Essay Contest for the 9th and 10th grade. They are a sophomore at Cleveland STEM High School in Seattle. Their essay below is in response to the prompt created by the WAESN Youth Advisory Board (YAB): Tell us about a time you broke the rules and why. Emily’s essay was selected by a… Keep reading February 3, 2023February 3, 2023