By: Dani Langevin – April, 2022 “If you can see it, you can be it,”- Elizabeth Marvel. Simple words but, so very powerful. Recently the members of the Methuen High School Gender Sexuality Alliance (GSA) donated $300 to the media center for LGBTQ+ materials, as well as, purchasing a large banner hanging in the high […]
By: Dani Langevin – Jan. 2022 I will be presenting you with historical facts and data. You can glean from it what you will. The question is: does systemic racism exist in the US? Here is a timeline of some fun facts. Let’s start with the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1871. Here’s the History Channel’s […]
By: Dani Langevin – May, 2018 On April 26, Methuen High School students observed a Day of Silence and have been for a number of years. A Day of Silence is a national event bringing awareness to the silencing effects of anti-LGBTQ+ name-calling, bullying and harassment in schools. We silence ourselves to pay tribute to […]
By: Dani Langevin – August, 2017 In June of 2010, in the second column I had ever written for the Valley Patriot, I wrote about what “Don’t ask, don’t tell” cost the military. It read, “It is estimated that there are almost 70,000 homosexuals serving in every branch of the military. Since 1993, over 13,500 […]
By: Dani Langevin – July, 2017 Language, as do creation stories, can define us singularly and collectively. Every culture has its own language and creation stories or stories to explain why things exist. In my opinion, creation stories and those that explain certain human behavior can reveal a great deal about a culture and/or time period. […]
By: Dani Langevin – January, 2017 There has been a lot of focus on celebrity deaths over the past year, especially in the past few weeks where 2016 seemed hell bent on shocking us all with a number of rapid losses. Instead of focusing on the past year’s losses, I thought I’d focus on some […]
By: Dani Langevin – Dec. 2016 I am blissfully now teaching sophomore U.S. History at the newly and beautifully renovated Methuen High School and loving it. I am also the co-advisor for the Gay Straight Alliance (GSA). My colleague, Brendan Cripps, and I have the privilege to meet with an incredibly vibrant, creative, and eclectic […]
By: Dani Langevin – Oct. 2016 What is patriotism today? From what I can see it is fear, bigotry and ignorance. This came to my attention when someone on Facebook, in a discussion about the Muslim Mosque possibly being erected at the 9/11 site, said, “Can anyone imagine AMERICANS defending a Nazi Hitler headquarters in […]
By: Dani Langevin – Sept. 2016 Last month, Tom Duggan posted a comment asking people if they supported merit pay for teachers and the claws came out. I’ve been an educator for my entire adult life and I have never come face to face with anyone who expressed disdain for my field. I know few […]
By: Dani Langevin – July, 2016 There is no doubt that the shooting at the Pulse dance club in Orlando is a tragedy. It is an act of hate, an act of homophobia, and an act of terrorism. I am saddened and sickened by it. I am also angry, yes at the shooter, but also […]
By: Dani Langevi – April, 2016 I was at a wedding shower the other day sitting with several family members. The evening before when I couldn’t sleep I realized that all four nieces on my side of the family have degrees in some form of social work. At the table, was one of those nieces […]
By: Dani Langevin – March, 2016 On Saturday, February 27, my sister, niece and I met at my brother’s apartment and within three hours dismantled the life that he had assembled for 56 years. It was a vulgar and heartbreaking task. Eleven days earlier we had lost Rob to his battle with alcohol. His disease, […]
By: Dani Langevin – Feb. 2016 Apparently my December column created quite a stir. I discovered that my administration received some unsolicited phone calls. Why wouldn’t those people contact me? Clearly I am the author of my columns, not my administration. My email is attached to every column I write. Feel free to contact me, […]
By: Dani Langevin – Jan. 2016 Meet Hector Black: Hector is a ninety-year-old man who lives in Tennessee. He has been featured on StoryCorps, Radiolab, and The Moth. He fought in World War II and attended Harvard where he studied social anthropology. None of this sounds remarkable, but Hector’s personal story is. Seven years ago, […]
By: Dani Langevin – December, 2015 I used to love my career. I was proud to be an educator. I woke up every day looking forward to the curriculum I taught, the students I got to inspire, and the colleagues with whom I collaborated. For 20 years I knew I was making a difference in […]