The field of Democratic presidential candidates is wide open. Senator Elizabeth Warren, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, Senator Cory Booker, and Senator Kamala Harris have all dipped their toes in the chilly water that is the 2020 election. Choices are usually positive in most things, except when it comes to school choice. Of all the politicians mentioned above, Cory […]
Instruction & Curriculum
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Opinion: Watch Your Tone, Fix Your Face, and Other Unspoken Rules for Educators of Color
“Mrs. Morrison, you’re going to be such an anomaly when you go to your interviews. They’ll snap you right up!” Harmless statement? Encouraging? I beg to differ. To the outside world this comment may have seemed innocuous, but to me, a Black educator, I knew what it really meant. So, let’s unpack this, shall we? […]
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The Implications of ‘Surviving R. Kelly’ in our Classrooms
I spent the last two evenings watching Lifetime’s documentary “Surviving R. Kelly.” If you haven’t seen it, watch it. Watch it now. I was in college at the University of Illinois at Chicago at the time his infamous “pee tape” became famous. I remember people in my classes telling me, through hushed whispers and giggles, […]
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Opinion: If You Can’t Say “Black Lives Matter” Then You Can’t Use Any Quotes from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Secondly, let us keep the issues where they are. The issue is injustice. […] Now we’ve got to keep attention on that. That’s always the problem with a little violence. You know what happened the other day, and the press dealt only with the window breaking. (15.1–2, 4–6) This is a quote from the last […]
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Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Letter from Birmingham Jail
In April in 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King was jailed in a Birmingham Jail after he defied a state court’s injunction and led a march of protestors to urge an Easter boycott of white-owned stores due to mistreatment of blacks. The letter defends the strategy of nonviolent resistance to racism. It says that people have a moral responsibility to […]
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5 Things We Need to Know About The L.A. Teacher’s Strike
______________________________________________________________________ Due to the actions of teachers across the country last year, especially in Oklahoma, West Virginia, and Kentucky, many have called 2018 “The Year Of The Teacher.” But 2019 might just see a wave of “Red For Ed,” as teachers in one of the largest school districts stage a significant strike involving over […]
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Having a Tupac State of Mind: Supporting Our Students that Grow from Concrete
“We wouldn’t ask why a rose that grew from the concrete has damaged petals, in turn, we would all celebrate its tenacity, we would all love its will to reach the sun, well, we are the roses, this is the concrete and these are my damaged petals, don’t ask me why, thank God, and ask […]
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America Already has a wall, it’s made up of teachers.
I debated whether to encourage my sophomore Global History students to watch President Trump’s address on Tuesday, January 8, 2019. Since 2016, it has been difficult to navigate how to incorporate civics and current events into my social studies classroom. I desire student awareness, but I am concerned that any discussion of his speech, or […]