September 23, 2020. This date remains etched in the minds of the Black community. This is the date that the killers of Breonna Taylor were not charged for murdering her in her home. Eerily, September 23, 1955, is also the day Emmitt Till’s murderers were acquitted of his torturous death. As I walked into my […]
LaToya Morrison
LaToya Morrison is an Assistant Principal of Instruction in Austin, Texas. Previous to this position, she was an ELA Secondary Instructional coach in Round Rock ISD, taught ELA (grades 6-9 for 10 years) during her time as a classroom teacher in Fort Worth and Round Rock ISD. She was named Teacher of the Year in 2008 at William James Middle School and received a second title in 2013 at the Young Women's Leadership Academy of Fort Worth. She holds a bachelor of science degree in middle school education from Texas Wesleyan University, and a master's degree in curriculum and instruction from Texas A&M University. LaToya loves to blog about student engagement, culturally responsive practices, and high-yielding instructional strategies.
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Cultural Responsiveness is Not Just for White Teachers
I remember my first year teaching….I was having difficulty with a few of my 6th-grade students. They were male and Hispanic. I wasn’t sure what the gap was but they ignored me when I spoke, they made rude comments and made it quite clear they weren’t going to do anything that I asked (including their […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Students Don’t Have to Read a Novel to Read
If you don’t like to read, you haven’t found the right book. -J.K. Rowling This infamous J.K. Rowling quote is often used with reluctant readers who feel that they “hate reading.” And what do we do as teachers? With great intentions, we work to help them find just the right book that will cure […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Professional Development Reflections: Embracing the Margins
Professional development, also known as PD, can often be unpredictable. In the words of Forrest Gump, like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re going to get. I often try to remember this when I’m designing PD myself as I want to ensure professional learning is intentional and useful for educators. We all […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
The Power of Play for All
The 1950s were something of a “golden era” of play. […] Schools had multiple recesses throughout the day, the concept of homework barely existed, and the school year itself was about 4-5 weeks shorter. Fast forward to today….. American kids now spend an average of just 4-7 minutes a day on unstructured outdoor play, and […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Out with Lesson Plans…In with Lesson Design!
Surprise! Lesson design is not a new phrase or concept. However, in the midst of ever-changing educational demands, lesson design has taken a back seat to “lesson plans.” From 5 E to Madeline Hunter, there is a myriad of ways to plan for students. One commonality between these various lesson templates is the idea that […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Teacher Empowerment: Fight the Powers that Be
You gotta go for what you know To make everybody see, in order to fight the powers that be -Public Enemy Public Enemy’s song, “Fight the Power,” was a call to action in the late 1980s for African-American communities (and beyond) to get more political and take a stand against the “powers that be.” When […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Covering is Not Teaching: The Case for Explicit Instruction
“I covered that unit.” “We talked about the vocabulary words.” “I touched on grammar last week.” “We went over the test.” “We did an activity on that.” “We went through the discussion questions.” These common phrases by some teachers are, unfortunately, becoming all too common. Our verbiage as educators is powerful and also an interesting […]