Alicia Stoller
@aliciastoller.bsky.social
Trying to stay tender and brave in dark times. I write about cultivating a resilient form of hope that helps us resist passivity. If we want a brighter future, we have to make it. (M.S.Ed.) https://www.notesonhope.net/
Pinned
We Need to Talk About Children’s Rights
And about the seductive mirage of parents’ rights
www.notesonhope.net
As a country, we talk a lot about protecting children. But our record when it comes to children’s rights is…well…terrible.
To truly protect and care for children, we need to get much better at listening to them. And we need an honest reckoning with the dark history of “parents’ rights.”
To truly protect and care for children, we need to get much better at listening to them. And we need an honest reckoning with the dark history of “parents’ rights.”
"It isn't ever delicate to live."
~Kay Ryan, Spiderweb
~Kay Ryan, Spiderweb
Which lines of poetry live rent-free in your head?
December 6, 2025 at 11:11 PM
"It isn't ever delicate to live."
~Kay Ryan, Spiderweb
~Kay Ryan, Spiderweb
Reposted by Alicia Stoller
This week the note I was originally planning to share didn't feel quite ready. So I decided to give my mind a little more time to wrestle with it. I know it's often impossibly hard to hit pause. Wishing you breathing room when you can carve it out and the ability to offer it to others, too.
Lessons in Slowing Down
Because it’s hard to care when we’re always rushing
www.notesonhope.net
December 2, 2025 at 2:05 AM
This week the note I was originally planning to share didn't feel quite ready. So I decided to give my mind a little more time to wrestle with it. I know it's often impossibly hard to hit pause. Wishing you breathing room when you can carve it out and the ability to offer it to others, too.
Reposted by Alicia Stoller
"If you find yourself overwhelmed or in distress, embrace that. It may well mean that you aren’t yet blind, that you have a conscience, that in a time of unbelievable cruelty, you’re choosing instead to be human."
December 6, 2025 at 1:38 AM
"If you find yourself overwhelmed or in distress, embrace that. It may well mean that you aren’t yet blind, that you have a conscience, that in a time of unbelievable cruelty, you’re choosing instead to be human."
Reposted by Alicia Stoller
The federal vaccine committee has voted to end the recommendation that all newborns be immunized at birth against hepatitis B.
This committee has zero credibility and the process for this vote was chaotic.
Please instead follow guidance from expert organizations The American Academy of Pediatrics.
This committee has zero credibility and the process for this vote was chaotic.
Please instead follow guidance from expert organizations The American Academy of Pediatrics.
December 5, 2025 at 6:10 PM
The federal vaccine committee has voted to end the recommendation that all newborns be immunized at birth against hepatitis B.
This committee has zero credibility and the process for this vote was chaotic.
Please instead follow guidance from expert organizations The American Academy of Pediatrics.
This committee has zero credibility and the process for this vote was chaotic.
Please instead follow guidance from expert organizations The American Academy of Pediatrics.
Reposted by Alicia Stoller
Real children are being unimaginably brave right now. This is what reach children look like. Please keep this in mind when tempted to compare one of the most powerful people in the world to a child. Children deserve more respect.
Trump’s racial profiling ICE goon army is ripping parents from kids
December 5, 2025 at 3:01 AM
Real children are being unimaginably brave right now. This is what reach children look like. Please keep this in mind when tempted to compare one of the most powerful people in the world to a child. Children deserve more respect.
Reposted by Alicia Stoller
I wrote about this a few months ago.
Let’s look to childhood, not as a symbol of adults' most base instincts, but rather as a source of inspiration for our own curiosity, compassion, playful ingenuity, and even rebelliousness.
Let’s look to childhood, not as a symbol of adults' most base instincts, but rather as a source of inspiration for our own curiosity, compassion, playful ingenuity, and even rebelliousness.
What Children Know about Power
And why we should stop comparing tyrants to children
www.notesonhope.net
December 5, 2025 at 2:57 AM
I wrote about this a few months ago.
Let’s look to childhood, not as a symbol of adults' most base instincts, but rather as a source of inspiration for our own curiosity, compassion, playful ingenuity, and even rebelliousness.
Let’s look to childhood, not as a symbol of adults' most base instincts, but rather as a source of inspiration for our own curiosity, compassion, playful ingenuity, and even rebelliousness.
Re-upping this little 🧵 because I've seen a lot of posts today that rely on this framing.
From the bottom of my teacher heart, please resist the temptation. Children are deeply curious. They are capable of empathy and surprising bravery. Powerful men demanding fealty & domination are not children.
From the bottom of my teacher heart, please resist the temptation. Children are deeply curious. They are capable of empathy and surprising bravery. Powerful men demanding fealty & domination are not children.
Please stop doing this.
Comparing an adult with enormous power to a child misrepresents actual children and minimizes the very real danger of his actions.
There are better ways to point out the cruel and reckless behavior of a tyrant than to malign childhood.
Comparing an adult with enormous power to a child misrepresents actual children and minimizes the very real danger of his actions.
There are better ways to point out the cruel and reckless behavior of a tyrant than to malign childhood.
The President Who Never Grew Up
Instead of focusing on governing, Trump spends his days chasing entertainment, attention and renovation projects that reflect a presidency stuck in adolescence.
www.politico.com
December 6, 2025 at 1:14 AM
Re-upping this little 🧵 because I've seen a lot of posts today that rely on this framing.
From the bottom of my teacher heart, please resist the temptation. Children are deeply curious. They are capable of empathy and surprising bravery. Powerful men demanding fealty & domination are not children.
From the bottom of my teacher heart, please resist the temptation. Children are deeply curious. They are capable of empathy and surprising bravery. Powerful men demanding fealty & domination are not children.
Please stop doing this.
Comparing an adult with enormous power to a child misrepresents actual children and minimizes the very real danger of his actions.
There are better ways to point out the cruel and reckless behavior of a tyrant than to malign childhood.
Comparing an adult with enormous power to a child misrepresents actual children and minimizes the very real danger of his actions.
There are better ways to point out the cruel and reckless behavior of a tyrant than to malign childhood.
The President Who Never Grew Up
Instead of focusing on governing, Trump spends his days chasing entertainment, attention and renovation projects that reflect a presidency stuck in adolescence.
www.politico.com
December 5, 2025 at 2:46 AM
Please stop doing this.
Comparing an adult with enormous power to a child misrepresents actual children and minimizes the very real danger of his actions.
There are better ways to point out the cruel and reckless behavior of a tyrant than to malign childhood.
Comparing an adult with enormous power to a child misrepresents actual children and minimizes the very real danger of his actions.
There are better ways to point out the cruel and reckless behavior of a tyrant than to malign childhood.
Reposted by Alicia Stoller
If a baby needs food and your first concern is fraud, you’re telling on yourself.
December 4, 2025 at 3:53 PM
If a baby needs food and your first concern is fraud, you’re telling on yourself.
The poetry excerpt in this week's Notes on Hope essay is from "In the Doorway" by Victoria Change, published in her collection, The Trees Witness Everything (2022).
Read the essay here: www.notesonhope.net/lessons-in-s...
#poetry
Read the essay here: www.notesonhope.net/lessons-in-s...
#poetry
December 3, 2025 at 11:20 PM
The poetry excerpt in this week's Notes on Hope essay is from "In the Doorway" by Victoria Change, published in her collection, The Trees Witness Everything (2022).
Read the essay here: www.notesonhope.net/lessons-in-s...
#poetry
Read the essay here: www.notesonhope.net/lessons-in-s...
#poetry
Reposted by Alicia Stoller
As we head into Giving Tuesday, I wanted to add one more resource to this thread on children's literature.
Project Night Night is one of my favorite organizations! They provide books, blankets, and stuffies to unhoused kids—such a simple way to offer a little security when it's needed most.
❤️📚🧸
Project Night Night is one of my favorite organizations! They provide books, blankets, and stuffies to unhoused kids—such a simple way to offer a little security when it's needed most.
❤️📚🧸
Project Night Night - Sweet Dreams For Homeless Children
Visit the post for more.
www.projectnightnight.org
December 1, 2025 at 10:36 PM
As we head into Giving Tuesday, I wanted to add one more resource to this thread on children's literature.
Project Night Night is one of my favorite organizations! They provide books, blankets, and stuffies to unhoused kids—such a simple way to offer a little security when it's needed most.
❤️📚🧸
Project Night Night is one of my favorite organizations! They provide books, blankets, and stuffies to unhoused kids—such a simple way to offer a little security when it's needed most.
❤️📚🧸
Reposted by Alicia Stoller
This week the note I was originally planning to share didn't feel quite ready. So I decided to give my mind a little more time to wrestle with it. I know it's often impossibly hard to hit pause. Wishing you breathing room when you can carve it out and the ability to offer it to others, too.
Lessons in Slowing Down
Because it’s hard to care when we’re always rushing
www.notesonhope.net
December 2, 2025 at 2:05 AM
This week the note I was originally planning to share didn't feel quite ready. So I decided to give my mind a little more time to wrestle with it. I know it's often impossibly hard to hit pause. Wishing you breathing room when you can carve it out and the ability to offer it to others, too.
My graduate advisor, Jonathan Silin, first published this book in 1995. There have always been lasting lessons in it, beyond the moment it was written in, because Jonathan is very wise. But I wish the subtitle, "Our Passion for Ignorance in the Age of AIDS," felt less relevant today.
#WorldAIDSDay
#WorldAIDSDay
Sex, Death, and the Education of Children 9780807776483 | Teachers College Press
Teachers College Press
www.tcpress.com
December 1, 2025 at 11:13 PM
My graduate advisor, Jonathan Silin, first published this book in 1995. There have always been lasting lessons in it, beyond the moment it was written in, because Jonathan is very wise. But I wish the subtitle, "Our Passion for Ignorance in the Age of AIDS," felt less relevant today.
#WorldAIDSDay
#WorldAIDSDay
Loved this 🧵 from the NY Transit Museum, in honor of Rosa Parks' anniversary today, about the desegregation of the NYC transit system. In 1854! By a teacher!
Side note: When my son was little, NY Transit Museum was one of our favorite spots. It's a gem of a local museum for kids and adults alike.
Side note: When my son was little, NY Transit Museum was one of our favorite spots. It's a gem of a local museum for kids and adults alike.
How was #NYC's transit system desegregated? In 1854, Elizabeth Jennings Graham, a 24-year-old Black school teacher, stood her ground on a NYC streetcar. Jennings was ordered to get off the car and wait for a car that served African American passengers.
December 1, 2025 at 10:45 PM
Loved this 🧵 from the NY Transit Museum, in honor of Rosa Parks' anniversary today, about the desegregation of the NYC transit system. In 1854! By a teacher!
Side note: When my son was little, NY Transit Museum was one of our favorite spots. It's a gem of a local museum for kids and adults alike.
Side note: When my son was little, NY Transit Museum was one of our favorite spots. It's a gem of a local museum for kids and adults alike.
Reposted by Alicia Stoller
"Nowadays I try to think of community and friendship, less as nouns and more as verbs."
New WHT ... writing back to a trans person who asked me how to find the will to live again ...
whats-helping-today.beehiiv.com/p/dear-sandy-8
New WHT ... writing back to a trans person who asked me how to find the will to live again ...
whats-helping-today.beehiiv.com/p/dear-sandy-8
Dear Sandy #8
"how do I find the will to live again?"
whats-helping-today.beehiiv.com
December 1, 2025 at 10:55 AM
"Nowadays I try to think of community and friendship, less as nouns and more as verbs."
New WHT ... writing back to a trans person who asked me how to find the will to live again ...
whats-helping-today.beehiiv.com/p/dear-sandy-8
New WHT ... writing back to a trans person who asked me how to find the will to live again ...
whats-helping-today.beehiiv.com/p/dear-sandy-8
With children's access to books increasingly precarious, it's easy to focus on the headlines of book bans & library closures. Today, instead, I thought I'd share a few reminders of why children's books are so uniquely wonderful. It's important to remember what we're fighting for. 🧵
#KidLit #BookSky
#KidLit #BookSky
November 29, 2025 at 8:17 PM
What a gorgeous love letter to teaching, literature, and the power of providing equitable access to both. Please follow the link below and read the whole essay by @johannawinant.bsky.social
November 29, 2025 at 5:52 PM
What a gorgeous love letter to teaching, literature, and the power of providing equitable access to both. Please follow the link below and read the whole essay by @johannawinant.bsky.social
I wrote this last year after Thanksgiving. I hesitated to reshare it today because the writing’s a little messier & more meandering than I’d like. But that’s also kind of the point. My feelings about gratitude rituals are a little messy. If that feels true for you, maybe it’ll help to have company.
Redefining Gratitude
Allowing ourselves to feel overwhelmed
www.notesonhope.net
November 27, 2025 at 6:09 PM
I wrote this last year after Thanksgiving. I hesitated to reshare it today because the writing’s a little messier & more meandering than I’d like. But that’s also kind of the point. My feelings about gratitude rituals are a little messy. If that feels true for you, maybe it’ll help to have company.
Grateful for teachers, always. 🍁💛🦃
Milwaukee, 58 years years ago
“3rd grade children at the Palmer Street school waited anxiously for their teacher to carve a 25lb bird. Mrs. Eva Andrews brought a complete Thanksgiving dinner to class. 31 children feasted on turkey, salads, dressing and pumpkin pie." — Wisconsin Historical Society
“3rd grade children at the Palmer Street school waited anxiously for their teacher to carve a 25lb bird. Mrs. Eva Andrews brought a complete Thanksgiving dinner to class. 31 children feasted on turkey, salads, dressing and pumpkin pie." — Wisconsin Historical Society
November 27, 2025 at 5:34 PM
Grateful for teachers, always. 🍁💛🦃
Reposted by Alicia Stoller
Many folks will go home today and endure family that has treated them extremely poorly, and I am sending you all love as well. I did this until I couldn't, put it that way ...
November 27, 2025 at 11:53 AM
Many folks will go home today and endure family that has treated them extremely poorly, and I am sending you all love as well. I did this until I couldn't, put it that way ...
Reposted by Alicia Stoller
To my fellow DV survivors (who like me are estranged and aren't going home for any holidays, including today) ... Just wanna say: I'm sending us all love.
November 27, 2025 at 11:51 AM
To my fellow DV survivors (who like me are estranged and aren't going home for any holidays, including today) ... Just wanna say: I'm sending us all love.
Reposted by Alicia Stoller
An incredibly important read from our friend @seemiaroll.bsky.social
"Obtaining an education is one of the best ways to help disabled people secure a stable income—and by weakening the IDEA, the Trump administration is trying to take those opportunities away."
"Obtaining an education is one of the best ways to help disabled people secure a stable income—and by weakening the IDEA, the Trump administration is trying to take those opportunities away."
Weakening the IDEA Threatens Millions of Disabled Americans Like Me
Ives-Rublee: Federal law made it possible for disabled students like me to go to school. Those opportunities may vanish for the next generation.
www.the74million.org
November 26, 2025 at 11:07 PM
An incredibly important read from our friend @seemiaroll.bsky.social
"Obtaining an education is one of the best ways to help disabled people secure a stable income—and by weakening the IDEA, the Trump administration is trying to take those opportunities away."
"Obtaining an education is one of the best ways to help disabled people secure a stable income—and by weakening the IDEA, the Trump administration is trying to take those opportunities away."
My dad’s an historian and when I was in 7th grade, doing a project on illumination, he asked a colleague at a rare book library to show me a Book of Hours. Even at 12, it felt mystical to be so close to pages that had been labored over by hand centuries earlier. It's time travel. Archives are magic.
I'm no Luddite - far from it - but the ways in which in this development has been spoken of seem blind to, or completely uninterested in, what cannot be machine read and searched for: the pounce, sweat marks, soot, or wax; the non-semantic yet semiotically rich substrate that OCR strips away.
November 26, 2025 at 11:13 PM
My dad’s an historian and when I was in 7th grade, doing a project on illumination, he asked a colleague at a rare book library to show me a Book of Hours. Even at 12, it felt mystical to be so close to pages that had been labored over by hand centuries earlier. It's time travel. Archives are magic.
Reposted by Alicia Stoller
The Best Kids’ Books About Mental Health of 2025 childmind.org/article/the-... @childmindinstitute.bsky.social
The Best Kids’ Books About Mental Health of 2025 - Child Mind Institute
Explore our favorite 2025 children's books on mental health. Our list covers a variety of topics from ADHD to autism to body image.
childmind.org
November 25, 2025 at 9:43 PM
The Best Kids’ Books About Mental Health of 2025 childmind.org/article/the-... @childmindinstitute.bsky.social