Thread by @FarFarrAway

One of Philly's most incredible teachers, @MattRKay, who also founded Philly's slam poetry league for teens, is getting dragged through it on Twitter b/c Fox News picked up on some of his tweets about virtual learning & open discussion of race & gender in the classroom (thread)

Matt's very valid concerns revolve around whether parents may try to listen in on the conversations he has with his students & how that might make the students less likely to open up. Classrooms can often be safe spaces to talk about what you can't talk about at home.

Matt pushes his students to have these conversations about race and sexuality - sometimes conversations that they've never had before.

And you know what - he's eminently qualified to do so. HE LITERALLY WROTE A BOOK ON IT.

amazon.com/Not-Light-but-…

I met Matt when I profiled him for my We the People series, about the people who make Philly extraordinary. And I will never forget as we walked through the halls how the kids came up and greeted him with joy - and I'll never forget the student letters he kept on his wall.

"Dear Mr. Kay ….. My parents still don't believe that you act chill in class, yet I learn so much," one letter reads, in part. "I have never met a teacher, or person, that acts so genuine and open around others."

I had some pretty great teachers, but after our conversation, I wish I'd had a Mr. Kay - someone who not only encouraged me to tell my own story, but also challenged my beliefs about race, sexuality, and the world we live in.

Many months later, Matt asked me to be a judge at the Philly Slam League poetry finals for Philly area high school students. It was the hardest thing I've ever judged because it was also one of the most beautiful things I've ever witnessed.

Topics ranged from racism to sexism & from Spanish to cereal. Students wrote about the power of the everyday man's story & the pain of abortion. The talked about abuse & violence & addiction & art. They wrote about life - and they performed like they'd already lived lifetimes.

But the most beautiful part was how supportive they were of each other.

And none of it would have been possible with at Mr. Kay.

So I just have to say to all the small-minded haters ganging up on Mr. Kay today - back the F up. I have Matt's back and I'm pretty sure the entire city of Philadelphia does too.

And if you're interested in his story, it's a pretty incredible one.

inquirer.com/philly/news/pe…

"If good people can't talk to each other then the bad people win, and there are legit bad guys out there," he said. "White folks have got to get over being scared. Black people have got to get over white people of goodwill making mistakes. Everybody has to get over it...

"We've all got to cut each other some slack. There's real work to do."