Teachers on social media are posting inspirational videos. School districts are compassionately giving students food, paper packets, Chrome Books, internet connectivity, and yard signs for seniors. Educators are doing the best they can to make a monumental shift–that may become the norm for the 2020-2021 school year. There is a critical component of school that […]
Laura Brown
The more I teach, the more my compassion for students, parents, and teachers grows. Thank you for reading my thoughts.
Posted inCoronavirus
The National Coronavirus Recovery Commission’s Voucher Scheme
“The Commission recommends that states help families return to work with access to K–12 education by making existing education funding student-centered and portable.” “Hell, yes!”  You can hear parents across the country yell upon reading the quote above, taken from The National Coronavirus Recovery Commission recommendation for k-12 education. For many American parents, this extended experiment […]
Posted inConfessions of a Teacher
Teachers’ Long Goodbyes…
The internet is full of teacher’s video messages to students. Recently, the English department, at the large suburban high school where I am employed, sent out a beautiful, heartfelt, and funny greeting to our students. Despite the positive messaging, there is a deep sadness that permeates the frames, as if teachers are saying:Â “This has […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Teaching with a mask on: How does a corona school function?
25,327 deaths. 579, 005 infections. 16.9 million unemployment claims. $1200 stimulus check. 124,000 schools closed. 55 million students impacted. Thirty-five million COVID-19 tests needed—every day. The numbers are staggering. The grief is real and relentless. Our collective losses, although significant, are dwarfed by a terrible state of limbo. When will the country re-open?  How will the country re-open? Of course, […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Dear Teachers: There Are Many Things That No Longer Matter
Dear Colleagues: Please allow me to write an open letter to you. We face the possibility that March 13, 2020 (or earlier) was the last time we will see our students during the 2019-2020 school year. I walked out of school on Monday, March 16, 2020, with a fellow teacher who told me: “Laura, this […]
Posted inSocial Studies
Teaching in a Time of Coronavirus Anxiety
Every day I cover at least one current event topic with my sophomore Global History and Geography classes. Recently, only one issue dominates the coronavirus. We began our discussions a month ago by looking at China and predicting the impact on the economy. As the days progressed, we viewed pictures taken by NASA showing diminishing […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Dear Senator Warren: There are 3.2 Million Public School Teachers Who Know What We Need in Education
February 26, 2020 Dear Senator Warren: At the Democratic Primary Debate in Charleston, South Carolina, you proclaimed that you would hire a teacher as your Secretary of Education. If elected in 2020, your decision to hire a public school educator for this cabinet position would be a positive step away from the current administration’s choice […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education
Reflections on my 3rd Black History Month Celebration…
I have been teaching social studies for twenty-five years, eight of which I focused on United States History, but February 11, 2020, was my third celebration of black history. Although I am a veteran educator, I am a novice historian. I am a rookie at social justice, and my students are my mentors. My third […]