Thank You Pete Seeger!!

Thank you Pete Seeger for always standing up for all of us!!

Help us lend a hand...

These three books tell one story about Let Kids Be Kids, Inc.
We advocate for those seeking a voice. 
We speak up, and help, the poor, the homeless, the sick, the displaced, the abandoned and victims of natural and man made disasters.
A great deal of our time is spent with young people offering them opportunities and insights into the lives and challenges of many across their community, and in the larger global community.
Our public advocacy is vocal and shared through the media as much as possible. We post to journals, newspapers, blogs, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Newsvine, LinkedIn, Instagram and all applicable sites across the Internet.
One recent example of our public advocacy is our recent visit to a Seattle high school with Natives Rising founder Robert "Ravenspeaker" Frederiksen. He spoke about the challenges, and solutions available, to ameliorate the abysmally bad realities many natives find themselves in throughout the country. The students, given the facts, and a listening ear, were quickly able to come up with some great ideas on reaching out across the cultural divide.
Our private advocacy deals with individuals and small groups who prefer to stay out of the public eye. Our work with some veterans, x-cons, HIV/AIDS patients, students dealing with various issues are kept between us and them-

The book "Trust Kids" speaks to all the great things that can happen when we actually listen to young people and give them the opportunity to have a real voice in the process. Each chapter tells the story of such successes. The stories range from students in Mississippi who have a role on the education board. These kids helped steer the board after the devastation of Katrina. Another story is how a young man helped a group of Australians with relief work in Ache. Perhaps the most distributed chapters shares how young people in Anacortes, Washington, use native traditions to deal with bullying.
Great stories that underscore our belief that change is always possible.

"Ice" shares the courageous and hopeful stories of many I have known, and know, who have suffered the devastation of a HIV/AIDS diagnosis. The book is full of amazing people who have brought into my life a fullness I never would have imagined 26 years ago when I first got involved with the 'community." The book has been embraced by a number of nursing schools, AIDS support organizations and other non profits dealing with the sick, lonely and abandoned. Most satisfying of all is how the book has been received by those who know the people I wrote about-

"View from the Tent" is the story of one man broken by an event in his life that leads him down the trail to homelessness. Its an unusual tale because its told through an exchange of notes between me and Atreus, a pseudonym chosen by the homeless man. These exchanges bring the reader into the story line and the changes that take place in his life, and at the various camps, where he hunkered down. A Seattle actor, Dan Niven, has volunteered his time to do readings of the book at events where the book is the center of a fund raising event. The book is sold wholesale to the group, they mark it up, and sell it at the gathering. I was recently told that the book has generated about $60,000.00 in donations over the last year. Let Kids Be Kids and Dan Niven receive nothing from the sale of the book or the presentation done by Mr. Niven.
In addition to these presentations we visit various schools to share our experience and knowledge of the plight of poverty and homelessness here and in many countries we have visited. The essence of these visits is to educate and solicit solutions...
I am very proud of the following:

" Mr. Miller's book, "View from the Tent" has provided my students with a unique insight into the challenges of a homeless man wandering through the system in Seattle. It is a story of discovery and hope that has benefited my students, as they look for ways to ameliorate the challenges the poor and homeless face on a daily basis. Mr. Miller's classroom visits have helped my students understand the human side of poverty and homelessness." (Dec 2013)

Edward Wilson Reed PhD

Assistant Professor 
Matteo Ricci College, Seattle University

Your purchase helps fund Let Kids Be Kids, Inc. advocacy out reach. All net proceeds are used to make life just a little bit easier for many in our communities.

For comments or questions email us at Let Kids Be Kids.

"Natives Rising"

Robert "Ravenspeaker" Frederiksen, Tsimshian, founder of "Natives Rising", addressed 17 & 18 year old students at Seattle's Center High School yesterday.
Center teacher Andy Bell was our host for the day. 

Ravenspeaker explained his founding of  "Natives Rising" by speaking of what holds a society together, and what forces can tear a society apart, requiring a "rising of spirit." 

In order to best illuminate the challenges he told three stories, one to each class, so the students could learn a little bit about the Tsimshian  (pronounced Sim see Anne) culture and how Ravenspeaker, and his people, view the world.

One story was of an old man who fooled young women with his false beauty. The essence of the story shared the larger morality that exists to hold people together. The importance of respect and honor among the people.

The second story told of a prince who was so in love with a young woman that he would do whatever she asked to win her hand. Over time she had him slice his face and body until he was just a ribbon of a human being.
Ultimately he is saved, and renewed, and she is rejected.
The story speaks to incorporating outside influences that may destroy all that is internally held sacred.

The third story was a legend, versus being an instructive story, that told the creation story of the ever pesky mosquito.

Ravenspeaker shared with the students the tremendous challenges faced by "First Peoples" spread across the country.  "First People", or "Natives" are the preferred terms to the imposed "Native American"category on those who have been here for thousands of years. 

He quoted the dismal statistics on school dropouts, unemployment, substance abuse and teen suicide.
The students were shocked by the number of native teens that look at life through a "prism so darkly" that they chose no life to the everyday negative internal messaging they have incorporated.
Ravenspeaker quickly pivoted from these hard to embrace statistics to incorporating the students in ways they could ameliorate the woes he shared.
With very little prompting each class of students came to the conclusion that true "friendship" could turn the status quo.
Friendship that is arrived at though knowledge, empathy, sharing, familiarity, trust, support and faith that a better day is on the horizon.
Every single student said they would be "friends" and would take steps to open themselves up to the "invisible" people who surround them in a city named after a Duwamish chief that few of them know much about-

Ravenspeaker is adept at delivering age appropriate "lessons" through stories, humor, historical and cultural references, group interaction combined with his obvious dedication and enthusiasm to seeing  "a spirit rising" among natives and non natives.

Students enthusiastically grasped his message adding their own insights to what can be done to reach out to each other---
What more could you ask for in a classroom?
Thank you Ravenspeaker-

For more information and how we can help arrange a visit by Ravenspeaker to your business, club or school email us at Let Kids Be Kids.

Speaking to truth...

Great to see the students, parents and alumni speaking up to the ongoing injustice within this school and in the Seattle Archdiocese.

January 8, 2014
Dear Eastside Catholic Friends,

Many have asked for meeting minutes or at least a recap of what was discussed on our alumni call. There were about 50 people on the line. These are my takeaways and I don’t mean to speak on behalf of the whole group, but I think it will help in beginning to outline where we can go from here.

In our minds there are four distinct issues (in no particular order), and we need to respect that not all people are involved for the same reasons as the other, but all reasons are equally legitimate. Those issues are (1) Religion/Catholic Doctrine, (2), LGBT Rights, (3) Wrongful Termination, and (4) Poor Leadership. 

I will address each individual issue below, but before I do, I’d like to point out that we are not kids anymore. EC alumni have grown up and we have the education, the wherewithal, and the means to amplify the student protests to a point of global change. 

In my opinion, it is nearly impossible that the status quo will remain at Eastside Catholic. This is not an issue of money or capacity but one of strategy. What we need to determine now is not how we will punish and replace the EC administration for making mistakes (the consequences will come in due course, likely with or without our intervention), but how we will rebuild the school to be something that makes us proud.

So without further ado, here are the key issues as I see them. You are welcome and encouraged to participate in whichever categories move you to action!

1. Religion/Catholic doctrine. Many feel the Church needs to, and eventually will, change. But as we all know, the Church is on a different timeline than our exceptionally liberal state in our exceptionally liberal country. Despite this, part of the “Z-Day” concept is our vision to have ALL Catholic schools in the US participate so that more than just the Archdiocese of Seattle feels pressure. Potential partners are organizations like Faithful America. This is not an easy road, and we could use some experts in Canon Law to assist in getting the student voices heard all the way to the Vatican. If you are interested in being on this committee, let us know. Please note: we have non-religious and non-Catholic folks that are equally incensed, but this issue alone does not cover their concerns.

2. LGBT Rights. Unrelated to EC or religion, our country is on the verge of major change when it comes to LGBT rights. Marriage equality laws are passing throughout the country, and very recently in Washington State. The law is still nascent when it comes to enforcing these new rights and many would like to see them apply in every possible circumstance. Social Outreach Seattle has been instrumental in amplifying the student concerns as well as many other LGBT-focused media outlets and non-profits. The ultimate goal here is to see a day where all people are allowed to live freely as they were made. Similar to the Catholic topic, however, some of our more conservative constituents are not interested in hanging their flag on the pro-gay rights movement. We respect this too. If you are interested in being on this committee, let us know.

3. Wrongful termination. There are undoubtedly employment law issues at play. EC will probably have some legal rights because of their affiliation with the Catholic Church but they do not have the right to cherry-pick what rules they enforce. One suggestion is to insist that the employee contracts specify that teachers are obligated to teach Catholic doctrine, but they are not required to adhere to it in their personal lives. Example: we had a beloved Jewish math teacher who taught at EC for decades. There is no way she could abide by Catholic doctrine outside of the classroom, but if you asked her whether she thought birth control should be allowed, she simply stated that she believed she was obligated in her contract to teach certain Catholic views. No one expected her to lie to the students about the fact that she was Jewish. No one expected her to follow Catholic doctrine in her personal life. If you are interested in exploring this issue or any other creative litigation strategies, let us know.

4. Poor leadership. In my personal opinion, and I suspect in many of yours, the poor leadership of the board and the administration (not only Sr. Mary) has contributed to an oppressive and ongoing hostile work environment at EC. Dozens of teachers have left in the past few years; many are still in a mild state of depression over the undemocratic environment. As a proud Crusader who has tried numerous times to get the administration to respond, this is wholly unacceptable to me and the area I am most passionate about. While I do believe we will get our way as to the ousting of Sr. Mary, I still believe a major revision of the bylaws will be necessary. Some suggestions we’ve heard so far including the following: 

I. Make sure at least two alumni and two faculty (former or current) are on the board. 

II. Ensure a democratic process applies in wider circumstances than in school finances so that singular powerful board members cannot dictate school policy.

III. Parents of current students may be allowed limited seats on the board and must recuse themselves of voting in certain situations. 

IV. Ensure the faculty has a formal vote in the hiring of the new President. 

V. Ensure a grievance policy is in place for faculty to use when board members or administrators misbehave. 

VI. Suggestion: Go back to the President/Principal model. EC went to this model and it was explained that the president dealt with outside the school house issues (i.e. fundraising) and the principal would deal with in the school house issues (curriculum, etc.) In the event of a disagreement, the Board would hear both sides and take a vote.

If you’d like to discuss any of the above, we are looking for committee members for each category. Thanks for caring, thanks for reading, and thanks for helping our world be a better place for everyone!

Sincerely, 
Mary K 

Mary Kopczynski, J.D./Ph.D.
EC Class of 1996