Dear former students,

This website, ink + sky, functions like a classroom; it is a place for learning, growth, community, and creativity. It is a safe space. Like my former classroom, my blog is not a place for harm or hate.

It is also not a platform for advancing others’ personal agendas or promotional campaigns. We all possess invaluable First Amendment rights, and venues and vehicles exist for us to exercise those rights. Please take advantage of those resources instead of attempting to use ink + sky. Thank you.

Please read the following information carefully before you request a postcard:

Harm

If your response to the writing prompt (“I am trying to figure out…”) suggests any of the following, your postcard will not be published:

• Harming yourself.
• Harming someone else.
• Being harmed by someone else.

For help in these matters, please contact local law enforcement, a health-care provider, and/or a trusted friend or family member.

Hate

If your response suggests any of the following, your postcard will not be published:

• Hate language of any kind, including symbols and/or images that represent hate groups, their missions, and/or their tactics.
• Religious or political criticism.
• Slurs and/or derogatory language related to gender, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, ethnic and/or racial identity, age, class, financial status, and disability.
• Defamation of another’s character.
• Support for any activity (criminal in nature) that could result in distress to people and/or animals.

Personal Agendas and Promotional Campaigns 

To exercise your rights of free speech and expression, please consider starting your own blog if you would like to advance a personal agenda or distribute promotional media. 

If your response suggests any of the following, your postcard will not be published:

• Religious or political commentary. This includes contentious public policy issues (border wall, immigration, health care, etc.).
• Profanity beyond those words permitted in classrooms (i.e. Mr. Bishop’s).
• Recreational drug use, even of legal substances (e.g. alcohol and marijuana).
• Any references to the debates about abortion, gun control, euthanasia, the drinking age, and/or drug legalization.
• The naming, description, and/or imagery of genitals and/or sexual acts.
• Advertising for non-profit organizations or for-profit entities (companies, individuals, etc.).
• Marketing (web addresses, phone numbers, street addresses, QR codes, etc.).
• Publicity for gangs and/or gang membership.
• “Secret codes” of numbers, letters, and/or symbols that could be used to transmit information to others in order to advance a personal agenda.

My blog, ink + sky, functions like a classroom; it is a place for learning, growth, community, and creativity. It is a safe space.

Assuming you have read this far — and that you agree to the parameters described above — please message me on Facebook and include this phrase: make it count. I will mail you a pre-stamped postcard like the one below. Directions are printed on its reverse side. The rest is up to you.

Note — A limited number of postcards have been created. Please request one only if you are committed to completing it and mailing it back to me. I am covering all of the expenses of this writing project. Be mindful of that fact.

We are all people first.

Sincerely,
Mr. Bishop

Note — The photograph featuring the “no hate” sign was taken by T. Chick McClure, and it is available on unsplash.com. The image of the binder and bar chart is by rawpixel, and it was obtained from unsplash.com.