Last week Betsy DeVos was tapped as the Secretary of Education by the incoming Trump administration. Now many educators in traditional public schools are cringing and bracing for the worst because DeVos is known in Michigan for her support of school vouchers and charter schools, often called “school choice.” The charter school topic can be a very […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education
No Right to an Education: Detroit Schools and the Secretary of Education Nominee
In September 2016, seven students in the Detroit school system filed a lawsuit against Michigan governor Rick Snyder and other state education officials. In their complaint, the students allege that over the last several decades, there has been systematic disinvestment in and “deliberate indifference” to the Detroit schools, which has fundamentally denied Detroit school children […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Teaching Skills for Survival in Dystopia
Skill #1: Radical Imagination Welcome to Dystopia Last week I presented an argument. We should teach kids to value diversity and to speak up against bias, hate, and bullying. I thought it was a pretty innocuous idea. But by leading my post with a list of factual statements and actions taken by President-elect Donald Trump […]
Posted inTeacher Leaders
What Happens When the Teacher is the Bully?
As an educator, I am duty bound to ensure that all my students not only learn but are educated in an environment that is conducive to that learning. This means creating a space for creativity, critical thinking, and risk taking; a space where opinions are varied but respect is consistent; a space where students are […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Who Will Care for the Teachers: A Podcast on Teacher Depression
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the U.S., affecting 40 million adults in the United States age 18 and older, or 18% of the population. During this episode, Franchesca Warren breaks tradition and talks with not one but four fellow teachers who suffer from […]
Posted inCharter Schools
Meet Betsy DeVos, Our New Secretary of Education
Today it was announced that President-Elect Donald Trump has chosen Betsy DeVos, a top Republican Donor, and School Choice Advocate to head the Department of Education. As teachers, we’ve already had a contentious relationship with the two predecessors to the job, but before we get into policy, it’s important to understand who Betsy DeVoe is […]
Posted inCharter Schools
[Podcast S2E12] How to Engage With Students Who Are Behaviorally Challenged
Have you ever received a child in your class who as soon as you see them you know they will be a behavior challenge? Call it teacher intuition, but you can feel it- and most times you’re right. You stay up late racking your brain for strategies for these students, but many times you don’t […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Top Ten Reasons to Feel Gratitude as an Educator
I did not start out wanting to teach. In fact, I recall sitting in a classroom with kids that needed help because the teacher quite obviously put me with them for that reason and thinking, “Oh my God! I will never become a teacher.” I had no patience for the kids who seemed not to care […]