Most Americans only know Mandy Manning, the 2018 National Teacher of the Year, by their own knee-jerk reaction to the State Teachers of the Year Award Ceremony at the White House and, of course, the political fallout that occurred thereafter. She’s a darling to those on the left, adorning her formal, floral black dress with […]
Posted inConfessions of a Teacher
10 Things My Newborn Younger Son Taught Me About Education
Isaiah, my second son, joined the world at 5:25a on May 4, 2018. In between the midst of nurse and specialist checkups, I had a second to look out the window overlooking a beautiful river-laden landscape, and I remember the article I wrote after my first son joined our family. And how I continue to […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
The Declining Mental Health of Educators
Teaching is different from other professions because your mental health affects so many different lives, lives who are truly vulnerable and dependent on you for growth. This places an extreme amount of pressure and stress on teachers, and if they are already predisposed to mental health issues, it can be a recipe for disaster. I […]
Posted inOpinion
This is America…Unpacking the Layers of Violence Our Students See
Yesterday evening, Donald Glover (aka Childish Gambino) debuted a new video entitled, “This is America” and for the past 24 hours, I’ve been entranced with the layers of symbolism in this video dealing with racism, violence, gun control, etc.. Before I go any further, I have to be honest. Up until two years ago, I […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
The Dirty Secret of Implementing Independent Reading: Fund What You Believe
“Students need to read like writers and they need to write like readers.” ― Kelly Gallagher The current craze in education is around giving students choice in what they read in an attempt to get them excited about reading again. This idea as basic as it has “lit” a fire in teachers in demanding that students have […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Janelle Monáe: Our Students’ New(ish) Role Model
Janelle Monáe. The name means many things to many people. Actress in the Oscar-winning films Hidden Figures and Moonlight. Musician. Android. African American. Pansexual. Queer. The meaning that is most important to me, though, is role model. Now, I know some teachers and parents will cry out that her music and videos aren’t exactly PG. […]
Posted inAsk a Teacher
Teaching in a Polarized Society: Reaching Across the Political Divide
“And the Oscar Goes To…” Teaching Civics in today’s hyperpartisan atmosphere is a dangerous occupation. The issues that make up the dialogue of American politics seem to have separated the American electorate to a higher degree today than in years past. Americans were always able to agree on their common heritage as the greatest democracy […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
A Reformed Ed-Reformer
Once upon a time, I was that young, white, teacher that really believed that the problem with my local urban school and our mismanaged district was the teachers’ union and the teachers that just didn’t work or care hard enough. I remember going to see Waiting for Superman and crying in the theater. Yes, I pumped […]