Have you signed up for The Educator’s Room Daily Newsletter? Click here and support independent journalism! Black teachers are leaving education at an alarming rate. What can we do to address this? Recently I gleaned some ideas from a Sunday Sermon at my church. Mary Stutts, Chief Global Health Equity and Inclusion Officer, author, and […]
The State of Education
No, I’m Not Moving to Teach in a Blue State
Have you signed up for The Educator’s Room Daily Newsletter? Click here and support independent journalism! “If you don’t like it, just leave.” We have heard this sentiment a lot in the last decade or so for reasons ranging from politics to jobs to natural disasters. Recently this has been the online response to some […]
Assessing Your School’s Social Emotional Learning Practice
Social and emotional learning is abuzz in educational circles now at long last. One might even say it’s a call to action, one that is long overdue in our schools.
The “Great Resignation” Is Hurting Teacher Diversity and That Matters More Than You Think
My first teaching job was at a very small private school, where I was the only English teacher for all four grades. I made very little money, our health insurance was threatened by financial woes, and I was severely overworked. I almost left teaching after my third year and I have been forever grateful for […]
Inhale Adversity, Exhale Hope: Reflections of a Black Educator
I didn’t even realize I was holding my breath until I heard the words. “Guilty. Guilty. Guilty.” I let out a slow and deliberate exhale, one full of relief for George Floyd’s family, his friends, and for the brave soul who captured the video of this public lynching. I continued to exhale for my family, […]
OPINION: I Chose The New Deputy Secretary of Education Myself Once
The school in which I teach, and now send my daughter to learn, lies in one of the lowest socioeconomic neighborhoods in San Diego. Nearly all of its students qualify for free and reduced lunch, the vast majority of the students speak English as a second language and teachers teach their hearts out. But there’s […]
Weigh in on Cardona? Better to Weigh in on Connecticut
When President-Elect Biden announced his choice for a new secretary for education, a comment was left on the Educator’s Room blog: “Anyone from Connecticut want to weigh in?” Well, I am an educator in Connecticut, but I think weighing in on the nominee Miguel Cardona is premature. Cardona, the Connecticut Commissioner of Education, was appointed […]
Remote Elementary Teaching Sucks. Get Over It and Prepare for Survival
This remote teaching thing sucks, but I realize it’s not about me. What am I going to do about it? I have no magic wand to wave to make COVID go away or to have students do school the way they should be able to without all the social distancing and with all the snack-sharing, […]