Just a few days ago I found myself in Castillo de Chapultepec, on top of a large hill in Mexico City. The castle was formerly a military academy, presidential and imperial residence, and is now the site of the Museo Nacional de Historia (The National History Museum). I had come to Mexico City to escape […]
Ruben Abrahams Brosbe
Ruben Brosbe is a former elementary school teacher. He currently facilitates professional learning for Teaching Lab, Ramopo for Children, and the Center for Racial Justice in Educaton. He is passionate about social justice oriented project based learning, and finds that young people make the best activists. He is a co-founder of Teach Resistance, an online community for social justice and anti-bias elementary educators. He is also the founder and host of Teachable Moments, a live storytelling event featuring stories by former and current educators.
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Featured, Instructional Strategies, Literacy
30 Picture Books for Black History Month
First, let’s get something obvious out of the way. Black history is American history. It shouldn’t be relegated to one month out of the year. It should be taught every day. That said, that’s just not happening in K-12 classrooms today. So until that happens, I feel Black History Month is not only worth celebrating, […]
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I Just Left #ECET2 and I am…
I just spent the last two and a half days in San Diego with hundreds of educators from across the country. I attended break out sessions on social justice and “managing up”, and listened to some pretty phenomenal Ted talk-style speeches, all as part of Elevating and Celebrating Effective Teaching and Teachers’ National Convening. Not […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Featured, From the Front Lines, Uncategorized
Redefining Expertise in Education
One of the most humbling things about my seventh year teaching is realizing how much I have left to learn. I am lucky enough to work with several teachers with 10 to 20 years of experience under their belts. I am inspired by the breadth and depth of their knowledge. At the same time, I […]
Posted inFeatured, Instruction & Curriculum, Instructional Strategies, Literacy
Ain’t No Party Like a Publishing Party
Celebrating Student Work with an Authentic Audience Last month my students finally finished their book reviews. It was our first full writing unit of the year, and at times it was difficult for them. It was a very different type of writing than anything they’d done before. When their confidence or interest flagged however, I […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Social Justice, Uncategorized
Race and Your School: Why Educators Must Read Between the World and Me
Why Educators Must Read ‘Between the World and Me’ “No one directly proclaimed that schools were designed to sanctify failure and destruction. But a great number of educators spoke of ‘personal responsibility’ in a country authored and sustained by a criminal irresponsibility. The point of this language of ‘intention’ and ‘personal responsibility’ is broad exoneration. Mistakes […]
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Why We Need Stubborn Teachers
Teacher burnout is a problem and we all know the statistics. Roughly half of teachers leave the profession within their first five years. The percentage of teachers who leave is especially high in schools with over 80% of students qualifying for Free or Reduced Lunch. You know there’s a morale problem in your profession when the […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, From the Front Lines, Uncategorized
5 Ways to Flip the Parent-Teacher Conference Script
With a total of five hours to meet 20-something families, elementary school teachers in New York City have between 10 and 15 minutes for each conference. That doesn’t leave a lot of time to cover a child’s academic progress, social-emotional progress, areas for growth in these areas, and provide suggestions for supporting learning at home. […]