I didn’t even realize I was holding my breath until I heard the words. “Guilty. Guilty. Guilty.” I let out a slow and deliberate exhale, one full of relief for George Floyd’s family, his friends, and for the brave soul who captured the video of this public lynching. I continued to exhale for my family, […]
Instruction & Curriculum
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
About Me, By Me Assignment: What Happened When My Students Spoke
Teachers: have you ever decided to do a lesson, and it just explodes into a different beast than you’re expecting? Have you ever steered away from the Common Core and done something to drag your students out of the everyday content sludge? As a Special Education teacher, my curriculum is written by me for my […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
The Learning Loss Discussion is Misguided
“How are we going to navigate learning loss?” “What about the students who aren’t having their needs met?” “What are we going to do about next school year?” Learning loss is the term of the year. It seems like everywhere you turn on the internet there is a discussion about the impacts of the […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Culturally Relevant Lessons in the Life of DMX
I remember when I first taught the life, music, and poetry of Tupac Amaru Shakur back in 2002. I received my first written complaint questioning why an educator would “glorify a thug.” I knew then I would continue to find ways to tap into my students’ interest by using Hip Hop Culture in my curriculum. […]
Posted inClassroom Management
8 Tips So Your Substitute Plans Don’t Suck
“I find your lack of substitutes disturbing.” Read that in a Darth Vader voice the next time you have to take off, and you’ll feel exactly the type of difficulty that I mean. It’s been 6 years since I wrote my story about how “Lack of Subs Is the Canary in the Coal Mine,” and […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Sustainable Investment in Education – More Than Just a One Time Fix
Well, our day has finally come! Or has it? We have an unprecedented amount of money we have all been begging for! But, as educators, yet again, no one is asking the “experts in the room” how to spend it. Education has always been about droplets in a seemingly never-ending sea of inequities, where teachers […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Opinion: Protect Transgender Students: Block Anti-Transgender Sports Ban Bill
In recent news, Michigan filed a bill, SB 218, violating the human rights of high school transgender students. More than 20 states are adopting an anti-transgender student bill that would ban high school transgender students from playing on sports teams that match their gender identity. Why was this bill introduced? The reasoning behind the bill […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Hate Raging in Virtual Realms During COVID-19
February 24, 2021, will forever be etched in my memory. We were nearly an hour into the ninety-minute presentation when I began to see the trolls. There were so many coming at once that I couldn’t keep up. I will never forget the first appearance of the bright red Swastika. The words “Fuck Niggers” slowly […]