The PBS Kids show “Arthur,” which began in 1996, recently aired an episode in which Arthur’s teacher, Mr. Ratburn, marries his partner who turns out to be a man. Although this isn’t the first children’s program with openly gay characters, it got me thinking: if there are increasing numbers of LGBTQ+ characters in children’s television, [...]
We all know how it feels to attend a half-hearted PD session we don’t think will be useful in our classrooms. Maybe it’s the content that feels irrelevant or the structure of the session. Whatever the cause, teachers are tired of attending PD that doesn’t fit our personal needs or the needs of our school [...]
The year: 1980 Activists in education are needed now more than ever. I was thirteen years old when I saw this coming. A smug ex-actor with Brylcreemed hair dropped a condescending line in a presidential debate. That isn't a big deal by itself, especially when you consider how low the presidential decency bar currently is. [...]
The temperatures are warming. The skies are bright. The birds are chirping. Spring fever is in full effect, and everyone is awaiting summertime! Unfortunately for educators and students, there is a huge hump to get over...standardized testing. End of the year assessments are looming over us. It seems like the entire school year comes down [...]
Public schools are a cornerstone of our communities, and help to shore up our society as a whole. Public Schools Week 2019 (March 25th to 29th) is seeking to spread that love and say it proudly. The week is almost over, but that’s no reason to either forget how important our schools are or that [...]