By Tina Starks, Instructional Coach and policy fellow with Teach Plus CA Just two weeks after the failed coup at the Capitol and added trauma on the souls of Black people, Inauguration Day 2021 symbolized the restoration of hope and possibilities for a different America than what we had experienced for the last four years. […]
COVID
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Today’s Homeschool Struggles Are Yesterday’s In-School Struggles
“Pa-Pa!” my kindergartener yelled out as I taught 10 feet away. “Papa! Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!” I looked up to see my youngest daughter red-faced, panicked, and irritated as her eyes darted from her computer screen to me to the papers scattered around her. “I need Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the […]
Posted inCOVID-19
Weaponizing Equity: White Saviorism and the School Reopening Debate
Guest Writer: Kenny Ludlow Kenny has worked in public schools for the past ten years in various capacities, and spent the past six years working as a classroom teacher. She has a passion for supporting and empowering other educators and currently works as a mentor for early career teachers in the Bay Area. She has […]
Posted inAdult Learning
Equity, Access, and Affirming Deaf Identity
Michele Lamons-Raiford is a hearing American Sign Language (ASL) teacher at Pinole Valley High School in the West Contra Costa Unified School District. She has been a High School teacher for the past nineteen years, as well as an Adjunct Instructor at Solano Community College for the past fourteen years. She has a BA and […]
Posted inCOVID
Evaluating Teachers During a Pandemic Is Ridiculous
I am that person who enjoys the app Timehop and On This Day on Facebook where it gathers pictures, quotes, or status from the past. This morning reminded me of one of my most dramatic mornings as a teacher. So I slept through my alarm this morning. The cat awakens me screaming to be let […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Teaching in a Pandemic: Help Teachers, Help You
Currently, I have twelve 9th graders failing and twelve 11th graders failing. I am still taking late work through tomorrow at midnight. I am taking ANY assignment, even from November. I have allowed them to redo any writing assignment as often as they would like for a higher grade. I have offered tutoring after […]
Posted inCOVID
What Would Be Worth A Staff Professional Development Day? Vaccinations for Texas’ Teachers
Texas’ prioritization plan excludes front-line essential workers from the next tranche of shots, including the state’s nearly 2 million food and agricultural workers, according to the Feeding the Economy trade group. Teachers and school staff, police officers, manufacturing workers, U.S. Postal Service employees, and public transit workers are also among those who are prioritized under […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education
America’s Reckoning: How Will Teachers Go Into Their Classrooms Tomorrow?
“How do we teach kids about this tomorrow?” This seems to be the question every American social studies teacher is asking themselves this evening, clutching the notion of the American republic in their hands like a broken teacup. As America continues to be ripped in two from its seams to its soul, we have, over […]