I have been learning just how powerful letter writing can be.
People from prison have written letters to anyone who will listen, and because of their letters, university courses in specific programs started. Non-profits have started up, and innocent people have gotten representation and their names cleared. Almost 100% of the time, the letter writers were completely unaware of the impact their letters had on people and how they planted seeds of change.
One advocate wrote so much to the government all over Canada that they didn’t realize she was just one person and thought she was a fully staffed national organization. Too funny!
There is an important concept in human rights law called “hindsight”. People can’t be held legally responsible for their inaction if they didn’t know about it. The law looks at what they knew at the time. Was their decision-making reasonable based on the information they had at the time?
We want people in positions of power not to be able to claim ignorance. If we are demanding action, we don’t want them to be able to say they didn’t know.
Part of the importance of filing external complaints is the data trail it leaves.
Advocacy fatigue is real for a lot of people. People with privilege really don’t understand the extreme weight that systemic oppression forces onto people. A book I think really sheds light on this with evidence from studies is called “Weathering: The Extraordinary Stress of Ordinary Life in an Unjust Society” by Arline T. Geronimus. I won’t provide any spoiler alerts, but it’s worth the read.
Some people are fuelled by advocacy whether they want to be or not. Many parents fit into this category. An example is my blog, “You Can Run on Anger“. Many neurodivergent people are especially in tune and responsive to injustice. It’s not by accident that many people who take up leadership roles in non-profits are ND themselves. We are built for this. I think of the Cars movie, “I am speed.” 😉 LOL
I think the human spirit is somehow tied to letter writing. A symbol of hope. We have always had the dreamy concept that if we are stranded on an island, what will save us is the letter in a bottle.
Here is something that is important to know about your MLA. Your school trustees and your local MLA rub elbows many times at community events. They often have a history together, and many school trustees run in their local MLA elections. Your school district does not want to embarrass their school trustees by you ratting out the district about all of the horrible things they are doing. Pull in the superintendent. Contacting your MLA can be a strategic move.
Your MLA will not get involved in your issues if you have open complaints. That includes Ombudsperson complaints, human rights complaints etc. You can still email them about everything, just don’t expect them to comment on anything.
If you want your information to remain confidential and anonymous, be clear about that at the start, and ask if this can be respected.
Your MLA is an important person because they need to listen to their constituents (you), hear about your issues and then they can use it to speak up about these issues in parliament. They also track how many people are coming to them about the same issue. This is what guides their work.
From Role of an MLA:
“Members meet regularly with constituents and attend community meetings and events. Constituency offices assist British Columbians who have questions or concerns about provincial programs, policies, and benefits. Members may also contact ministers or ministry officials about policies and programs affecting individual British Columbians.
There are also opportunities for Members to raise constituent perspectives and concerns in the Legislative Assembly during debates by making statements or presenting petitions, and by asking government to act on issues affecting residents of their electoral district or the province.“
They may not be able to solve your problem, but alerting them to the issues is very important. If I am going to plead anything with parents is to please make your experience count. Don’t let it get pushed under the rug like it never happened. Writing to your MLA and cc: the Human Rights Commissioner can make such a difference. Things accumulate. As more people write, the mountain builds. If you have one last breath in you, let it be this.
One of my favourite quotes from disability activist Judith Heumann is:
“Change never happens at the pace we think it should. It happens over years of people joining together, strategizing, sharing, and pulling all of the levers they possibly can. Gradually, excruciatingly slowly, things start to happen, and then suddenly, seemingly out of the blue, something will tip.” – Judith Heumann
What can be so emotionally unsatisfying is that people in positions of power NEVER want to let on just how powerful we really are. They are afraid to open the floodgates in society. The system as a whole is really trying to keep everyone somewhat calm so that they don’t storm the fortress, as has literally occurred so many times in history. They use delay. Or when you do hit a nerve, they strategically time things much later so that you aren’t aware it was you that actually brought that on. We can’t have them claim they didn’t know. When you email the Ministry of Education cc: Human Rights Commissioner and your MLA.
Know this: your voice matters. The more people speaking up does create cultural changes. What society views as acceptable now has changed over the decades, and all of that has been brought, carried and exposed on the backs of those most harmed. Being aware of people’s experiences changes our expectations of our government.
I give you the beginning.
Dear (insert MLA’s name)
I am writing to you on behalf of my child. My goal is for you to be aware of the issues that families are facing when they have a child with a disability/neurodivergence in education. We need systemic change.
Here is our story.