Angelica

“We have been deluded by the forces of economics and religion to believe that the purpose of life is hard work. So every time we feel empty, dissatisfied, or unfulfilled, we work harder and put in more hours.”
― Celeste Headlee, Do Nothing: How to Break Away from Overworking, Overdoing, and Underliving

“Instead of calling these IB and AP courses "gifted" classes, I call them privileged classes. The students in the classes are privileged. Colleges give preferential treatment to students who take these classes. These classes are not offered at all or in full in some schools. Others have a full slate of IB or AP classes. Many IB programs require letters of recommendation, allowing eligibility to hinge on teachers' assumptions and expectations of students. Depending on their race, students aren't just steered away from them, they are also steered toward them.”
― Ibram X. Kendi, How to Raise an Antiracist

“Then again, not everything is questionable. Facts are not questionable. Not all racial questions are antiracist. Our questions should be premised on the basic fact of our common humanity. To be racist is to assume that racial groups are not, or may not be, equals. This racist assumption ignores the nearly six centuries of power constructing the races and failing to prove that these racialized groups are anything but equals. To be antiracist is to assume that racial groups are equals. These different assumptions lead to different questions. Racist: What is wrong with those people? Antiracist: What is wrong with these racist policies? Different questions lead to different solutions. Racist: changing people. Antiracist: changing policy. The question—if wielded in antiracist fashion—is the most powerful sentence. The question is the seed to knowing. This process of persistent questioning is the key to critical thinking. To raise an antiracist is to raise a critical thinker.”
― Ibram X. Kendi, How to Raise an Antiracist

“When I wasn't told I was an impostor in these privileged classes, I was told I was privileged. To be a student in these classes is to be constantly told you are better than the students not in these classes. It is to be told you are gifted and hardworking--not like those other kids. For a teenager--whether White or Black or Asian or any other race--to be constantly told you are better is to start believing it. How else are you going to explain why so many kids like you or not like you are in--or are not in--these privileged classes?”
― Ibram X. Kendi, How to Raise an Antiracist