As schools across the country grapple with implementing online instruction, conversations about the future of education abound. So, it was no surprise when my buddy sent me this podcast: How To Test Out of College While You’re Still in High School. It makes the case that college is frivolous and with some minor efforts and […]
Posted inBack to School
Staying Within Law: Special Education Teachers and IDEA
Although it’s been a rough start to the 20-2021 school year for most school districts in the United States, school districts are still required to meet the service needs of their special education students. Under IDEA, the Bible for Special Services, also known as the Individuals with Disabilities Act, denotes in detail what our special […]
Posted inTeacher Self Care
Practicing Self-Care in the Midst of Chaos
Guest Writer: Dolisha Mitchell As a teacher, we all know we tend to spend an unhealthy amount of time at school. Early mornings and late afternoons become the theme for each school year. Every year we tell ourselves we’ll have a better work-life balance, but fall victim to those old habits. Before you know it […]
Posted inCOVID-19
Teaching in 2020: Where Everyone Gets a Choice, Except Teachers
As we continue to grapple with the changes that are impacting our communities, school reopening plans are at the forefront of most conversations. It is not hard to recognize that most everyone is flying by the seat of their pants as decisions are made and unmade with little notice. The issue of schools reopening continues […]
Posted inHow to Fix Education
How School Boards Became the Most Important People You Never Voted For
There’s a number I can’t get out of my head: 20%. As folks affix their Trump and Biden signs in their yards and argue precipitously over politics with their neighbors, claiming how this is the “most important election of their lives” and how the other guy will “ruin America,” I’m still thinking about that number. […]
Posted inBack to School
Finding Your Light in the Dark: Positivity During Pandemic Teaching
There are seven portables in a horseshoe shape around a patch of overgrown grass and two basketball courts with chain-link nets. Approaching the front gate, there are students checking in with security who say hello to me as I pass by. In the first portable is the front office, I spend my mornings here chatting […]
Posted inAsk a Teacher
The American Teacher: Savior or Scapegoat?
Absolutely necessary; extremely important; crucial; necessary; key; vital; indispensable; needed; required; vitally important; critical; life-and-death; imperative; mandatory; compulsory; obligatory; compelling; urgent; pressing; burning; acute; paramount; preeminent;high-priority; significant; consequential. These words describe the word essential. Notice how many words are employed to define a single word. Anthropologists note that the higher a term is valued, the […]
Posted inDo The Work
Do the Work: Equity Symposium for Teachers
On September 12th, we have our first virtual symposium of the year, “Do the Work: Equity Symposium for Educators” as we carefully examine race, equity, and privilege in K-12 schools. This work comes after a widely successful series of Facebook Live Discussions where thousands of educators talked about various issues related to equity in schools […]