Instruction & Curriculum

“A child is the only known substance from which a responsible adult can be made.” –Tom Lickona, Raising Good Children The University School of Milwaukee (USM), where I am the Middle School Head, has a core set of values that we refer to as The Common Trust. Our core values are respect, trust, honesty, fairness, […]

Oklahoma lawmakers and law enforcement are calling for transparency and further investigation after reports surfaced that explicit images appeared on a television in Superintendent Ryan Walters’ office during an executive session of the Oklahoma State Board of Education. While in office, Walters has been known to push for the implementation of education policies based on […]

I had only just begun my career as a middle school teacher in one of the outer suburbs of Los Angeles. “Outer” meant that the area still retained some of its rural features. Most of the orange groves and cornfields of the closer in San Fernando Valley had already been replaced by track homes and […]

Federal Dismantling and Early Learning Disparities in Head Start  As a veteran early childhood educator with over 15 years of experience, I’ve witnessed how a quality preschool education can positively change the trajectory of a child’s life. This is why, as a nation, we should be alarmed as President Trump begins dismantling the Federal Department […]

“What does ‘nucleation’ mean?”  I asked Josh (not his real name) after I handed him back his write-up on his class presentation.   “Uh… I don’t really know Mr. T,”  Josh responded.  He grinned as he immediately realized he was caught.   “Why is that concept in your presentation on Mentos in Soda then?” I asked.  Josh […]

The following is my DEI report to the Department of Education:  There’s now a webpage on the US Department of Education’s website asking for folks to report cases of DEI. Some folks are looking to embrace these anti-DEI measures. A recent oped in my area even asked teachers to help Trump dismantle DEI measures in […]