A Note on Anonymity

Several project writers/participants have requested that their real names not be published.

The artifacts of this project are addressed to real people. More specifically, the artifacts of this project are addressed to people who are also decision makers—superintendents, principals, education commissioners, governors, senators. While some of the project writers/participants feel comfortable putting their names on the line, there are those who fear retaliation (and not without good reason).

There is extra value, however, in the pen names used for this project. The pen names that our participants use are mashups of people the writer/participant admires (educators, scientists, activists, and so on). These pen name mashups add a layer of rhetorical range to their message. Imagine it as a frame from which the writer/participant is speaking and acting.

And then consider this: what kind of system have we created (or endorsed, even through silence) that people not only fear for their physical safety but also worry that articulating their fear may result in retaliation such as losing one’s job, doxxing, or being canceled?