My Colleague and Friend is Immunocompromised Imagine wearing a mask for COVID-19 protection in school when everyone else has decided they are no longer needed. You wear protective latex gloves, your hands are dry, sore, and severely chapped from overwashing, and you fear for your life as you enter the classroom each day. Well, this […]
Current Events in Education
Posted inOpinion
Be a Teacher Who Votes
Have you signed up for The Educator’s Room Daily Newsletter? Click here and support independent journalism! I recently learned a new statistic that deeply surprised me: In the past three midterm elections, 33% of the teachers in my state’s union did not vote. Although this generally matches or beats the state-wide voter turnout trends – 64% of […]
Posted inOpinion
Make Voter Registration a Priority at Your High School
Have you signed up for The Educator’s Room Daily Newsletter? Click here and support independent journalism! Every two to four years, we hear about the need to register young people to vote. Pundits bemoan the low turnout numbers that we see from 18 to 25-year-olds. Experts hypothesize about why they do not choose to exercise […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education
Why U.S. Students Need to Learn About the Iranian Uprisings
Have you signed up for The Educator’s Room Daily Newsletter? Click here and support independent journalism! On September 16, Iran’s Guidance Patrol (religious morality police) detained 22-year-old Mahsa Amini for wearing her hijab too loosely. Her “improper hijab” violated Islamic mandate and landed her in a police van, where several eyewitnesses say she was severely beaten. She was then […]
Posted inOpinion
Why I’m Running for School Board (And You Should Too!)
Have you signed up for The Educator’s Room Daily Newsletter? Click here and support independent journalism! In March of 2020, when the pandemic hit, I had already been contemplating retiring. I had been teaching English at a Northern California high school for 31 years, and it seemed like the end of the 2020 school year […]
Posted inOpinion
Mythical, Fictional, Make-Believe…as Long as They Ain’t Black
Have you signed up for The Educator’s Room Daily Newsletter? Click here and support independent journalism! As a Black teacher who advocates for the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion, the heated debate about a Black Mermaid has piqued my interest on many levels. I recently discussed the issue with members of my African American Student Union […]
Posted inOpinion
Banned Books Week is a Time for Educators to Fight Censorship
Have you signed up for The Educator’s Room Daily Newsletter? Click here and support independent journalism Banned Books Week is an annual effort to fight for intellectual freedom. This year the theme is “Books Unite Us. Censorship Divides Us” and the fight could not feel more urgent. Banned Books By the Numbers This Friday, the […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education
Is It Fair to Test Learning Loss?
Executive director of FairTest weighs in on standardized testing reform Have you signed up for The Educator’s Room Daily Newsletter? Click here and support independent journalism! The Nation’s Report Card As I prepared to interview Harry Feder, the new executive director of FairTest, the latest Nation’s Report Card was published. As a result, our chat felt especially timely. […]