Education: To work in special education is never an easy feat. However, “educating within special education as a Black Woman is downright traumatic.” I thought this recently as I stood in the classroom, recalling countless conversations I’d had with my special education colleagues. Black students are referred and assigned to special education restrictive programming at a […]
Equity
Posted inOpinion
Why We Need More “Black Ms. Frizzles”
Have you signed up for The Educator’s Room Daily Newsletter? Click here and support independent journalism! When I started teaching in the U.S. in 2018, I had a student, let’s call him ‘Eddie,’ who was unbelievably quirky, to say the least. In class, he always tucked in his shirt, speed-walked everywhere, was always on the […]
Posted inOpinion
Where Are All the Teachers of the Deaf?
Facing a Crisis for Deaf/Hard of Hearing Students and the Profession Have you signed up for The Educator’s Room Daily Newsletter? Click here and support independent journalism! Teachers continue to leave the educational profession at alarming rates – further exacerbating the teaching shortage in schools across the country. Under overwhelming teaching conditions, those who remain […]
Posted inElementary School
It Takes a Village (to Help Young People Heal)
Have you signed up for The Educator’s Room Daily Newsletter? Click here and support independent journalism! Young People Have Lost a Lot COVID-19 and the related pandemic losses turned children’s lives upside down. In many cases, their schools closed, they went without extracurricular activities, and they missed holidays with family members. Children experienced sadness, worry, […]
Posted inPedagogy
Co-Create a Student Contract with Eight Questions
Voices off and eyes on me, in three, in two, and one. The class expectation is 100% engagement while the teacher gives the ‘stand and deliver’ routine for an hour. G is taking notes in her binder. And she is one of three students who’s raising her hand and adding insight to the conversation. She […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education
I Just Want to Live and Teach
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 […]
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 inBook Review
Learning and Teaching While White: A White Educator’s Review
Have you signed up for The Educator’s Room Daily Newsletter? Click here and support independent journalism! Learning and Teaching While White: Antiracist Strategies for School Communities by Jenna Chandler-Ward and Elizabeth Denevi is one of the latest entries to the growing market of antiracist education books. With favorites like We Want to Do More than […]