Ep. 31: Not Data Without Stories, Not Stories Without Data

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EQ: Why is the work of the ACLU in the Washington important and relevant in 2018?

Guest: Vanessa Torres Hernandez, Youth Policy Director at American Civil Liberties Union of Washington. Nerd Farmer Guest Ep 27

The formidable and fabulous Vanessa Torres Hernandez joins us to talk about the intersection of education and the law. Vanessa shares the story of her early life in Guam, the culture shock of American college life, and her years as a teacher.

Highlights include:

  • We need to pay more attention to school safety  issues in Washington School Safety. Many instinctive responses to school shootings are wrong and not research based.  We need more preventative resources.

  • There is an absurd amount of racial bias in school suspensions and other forms of discipline

  • We need to question and re-imagine the role of law enforcement in schools

  • The importance of stories with data and data with stories in improving school safety - it can’t just be about numbers or feelings, we have to examine both

  • Equal Justice Works

  • Learn more about the Every Student Counts Alliance (ESCA), a new collaboration between organizations and individuals in Spokane working to end the overuse of suspension and expulsion in Spokane Public Schools and to eliminate disparities in rates of suspension and expulsion of students of color and students with disabilities.

  • Read more about WA state laws on suspension, including HB 1541 and Adopted Student Discipline Rules

Guilty Favesies

  • Hope: candles, especially if they’re on sale at Target

  • Annie: single-serving lunch snacks

  • Vanessa: celebrity gossip magazines


Do Your Fudging Homework:

  • Hope: What do you think about … Can the ACLU Become the NRA for the Left?

  • Vanessa: Attend Adult Civics HH; Flights and Rights (ACLU) in Seattle; issue oriented civic engagement--most important

  • Annie: clued in to what’s happening in legislature! Sign up for legislators emails