Seatbelts, Everyone!
Ms. Frizzle said "the best way to know is to do." Go on a field trip to discover what that means in inclusive education.
The Route 24 Roadmap
If you’re new here, welcome! If you’ve been here since day one, thanks for showing up week after week! My name is Sam and I’m on a mission to help restore public trust. This is a space where I look closer at moments of global and national significance to show you how cycles of misinformation and disinformation disorient communities.
Probable Cause is an XR civic education gaming experience that puts you in the driver’s seat to explore issues of public safety from community-centered perspectives. Route 24 is its companion newsletter that invites you to explore our creative process on the project as we build, deconstructing the real-world impact of policies and practices in transportation infrastructure, immigration reform, environmental justice, racial equity, and more to jumpstart public awareness and, in turn, mobilize narrative change.
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“The best way to know is to do.”
Ms. Frizzle, The Magic School Bus (1994 - 1997)
IN THIS ISSUE: Imagine if children today could cultivate collaboration, embrace curiosity, engage in evidence-based thinking, and explore solutions with a hands-on approach to learning. When I was growing up, one after-school program on PBS Kids did exactly that. The Magic School Bus took viewers on immersive field trips to make science education fun and accessible to everyone. Told through the lens of a boundary-pushing teacher, Ms. Frizzle, students were challenged in each show to build a hypothesis, test it, and work together to solve a problem.
As I reflect on today’s ecosystem, I have to ask: is it just me or do you think children today are less encouraged to think critically? Perhaps what’s motivating more reactive rather than introspective logic are the surrounding circumstances for most children: the correlation between youth digital dependency and loneliness, the increasing restrictions on what children are allowed to read, or the need for active shooter drills in school safety plans. Of course, most families must also contend with a worsening affordability crisis, military deployment in American cities, and the increased frequency of government censorship. None of these issues were top-of-mind when I was growing up.
In this issue, I address the persistent problems inclusive curriculum design helps to solve. As today marks the first day of autumn, I wish everyone observing Rosh Hashanah and participating in the United Nations General Assembly and Climate Week a peaceful convening.
I’ve been gearing up for an ambitious slate of project meetings while rushing to meet the moment in an especially deadline happy September. As a result, our circulation schedule has been sporadic lately, but I’m grateful to this community for sticking with me.
Stay the course,
Sam
Sam Reetz, is a filmmaker, performer, and founder at Millennial Ethics, creating narrative solutions to complex issues.
Follow her work on Bluesky, Substack and Instagram.
The current administration’s recent announcement of the America 250 Civics Education Coalition, an America First Policy Institute initiative to develop programming in celebration of the United States’ 250th anniversary, should deeply concern any person with an understanding of pro-democracy values. Under the guise of educating campus coalitions on “patriotism”, it signals an attempt to advance the MAGA agenda through the lens of selective memory. Consider how the Trump administration has erased climate and policing databases, issued executive orders to report signage in National Parks that portray America in “a negative light”, and called for the internal review of Smithsonian Institution collections that “portray American and Western values as inherently harmful and oppressive.” I encourage you to listen to Kimberlé Crenshaw’s recent interview on Laura Flanders & Friends for the full social and cultural context.
Given the current administration’s ongoing list of oppressive actions, it’s human to feel scared and demoralized. That said, there’s significant evidence to suggest that these displays are intended to create a climate of fear to inhibit dissenting voices and embolden extremist perspectives. It’s worth noting that collective action and humor are powerful antidotes to fear-driven politics.
Within the context of inclusive curriculum design, there’s an exercise that helps to explain solutions-based thinking between differing experiences. In “I Wish You Knew”, students work together in pairs to tell one another something they wish the other knew about them, with the end goal of helping each student have a better understanding of one another. Here’s an example: Wanda takes the bus to school every day. Arnold carpools to school every day. Though Wanda and Arnold use different methods to arrive at school, both Wanda and Arnold learn that they have a shared routine: they wake up an hour earlier than their peers to get to school on time. This exercise helps to develop empathy and critical observation skills, connecting students with differing experiences and encouraging them to look for common ground. More broadly, inclusive curriculum design has implications for civics literacy to help bridge persistent social, cultural, and partisan divides as a dialogue-driven tool for pro-democracy capacity building.
Next week, I’ll address inclusive education’s potential for global impact.
In Case You Missed It — Revisit last week’s Driver’s Ed issue, the first part in this series on inclusive education.
Learning for Justice - Inclusive Educational Resources
Help me jumpstart the conversation. How could inclusive education be applied where you live? Share your thoughts in the comments.
Yes, your writing makes us remember the wonderful childhood examples that make life inclusive. Mrs. Frizzle and The Magic School Bus is a perfect combination of loving to learn by sharing different experiences. This brought me back to better days. Thank you!