Unidentified black SUVs swarming the parking lot, strange, official-looking men yet no badges, and a distinct, overwhelming fear. I will never forget my first encounter with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in my school community. It marked the start of an era in our predominantly Latinx neighborhood, a close-knit community of mostly Central Americans fleeing […]
Current Events in Education
Posted inCurrent Events in Education
How the Government Shutdown has Triggered my Teacher Shame
Teacher Shame, a term I use to describe the regular intervals at which I am reminded that I chose a low-paying job that seems to be considered unimportant by society. The current government shutdown has triggered me. The first time I felt this shame was when I watched the faces of my college boyfriend’s family […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education
Colorado voters support measures to feed public schools students by taxing rich
Last night, Colorado voters decided on a pair of measures aimed at bolstering funding for free school meals for all public school students, as well as to mitigate federal cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as food stamps, by taxing the wealthy. Proposition MM will increase state income taxes paid by households earning […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education
Teachers are Lambs to the Slaughter: The Fiction We Teach, The Reality We Live
By Kelsey Trumble We hand students dystopian novels—1984, Fahrenheit 451, The Hunger Games—as warnings about what happens when fear becomes normal, when truth bends, when cruelty turns quiet. But somewhere along the way, the fiction blurred. Now, when another teacher bleeds in a classroom, the outrage burns through feeds faster than facts can catch up. […]
Posted inEnglish Language Learners
Under His Eye: Teaching Under Trump’s Policy
I teach twelfth-grade English at an urban school. The poverty rate here is high. Violent crime is a common occurrence. I’ve devoted my career to serving this population. The work is often difficult, but it’s the most-important work in the world, and I’m all in. When I returned to the classroom in September, to begin […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education
Dystopian Teacher Tales #7: The educational advocate and her clients
In this scenario, Donald Trump has been elected to a third term, which is something he’s often mentioned during the first portion of his second term. With the complete closure of the federal DOE, something that both Trump and Secretary McMahon have noted as a priority, many Title protections have been returned to states. Similar […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Chronic Absenteeism: The Silent Killer
As a former Texas Master Teacher, I thought I knew everything there was to know about education, as it related to data and metrics. I knew how to tier my students based on their academic needs. I understood the necessity for grouping my students by various demographic markers. I effectively delivered the Texas Essential Knowledge […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education
Around the World in 80 Lessons: Warnings in Genocide to the US from Armenia
This summer, I was invited to study at the Genocide Museum in Yerevan, Armenia as a teacher fellow with the Genocide Education Project. I walked the museum with Regina Galustyan, the museum’s biographer and researcher. I sat in on lectures from professors like Dr. Dikran Kaligian and visited cultural sites and monasteries. I watched Armenian […]