I am a social studies educator. Emblazoned on the wall of my classroom is a sign proclaiming “I Teach Hard History.” Earlier this year my students looked at vivid, graphic, and unfiltered views of the Middle Passage that brought enslaved Africans to the New World. I’ve challenged students to think about whether or not the […]
Opinion
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Standardized Testing’s Negative Affect on Math Education
Standardized Testing has been around for decades. In its original form, it was used to check a student’s progress from year to year. At some point around the 1970s test results were used to find specific areas of a subject where a majority of children were doing poorly. Teachers were encouraged to use activities that […]
Posted inOpinion
Hair Love Is What Your Students Need
Last night the viral sensation, Hair Love the American animated short film written and directed by Matthew A. Cherry, and co-produced with Karen Rupert Toliver won an Oscar for the best animated short film and the internet shouted. Not because the film was done perfectly (it was) or that it represented for black girls what’s […]
Posted inConfessions of a Teacher
This is Not the Teacher I Wanted To Be
“This is the not the teacher I wanted to be.” From time to time, I stand in front of my students, eyes filled with tears, while this thought repeats itself over and over again. I’m not sure when I first realized it, but once I did, there was no going back. I wake up every […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education
Race-Conscious Reading For Preschool
Guest Writer: Marisa Lark Wallin Initiating conversations about race and culture in your regular reading can help young children resist being socialized into white supremacy. Black Lives Matter At School national week of action will happen this February 3-7, 2020. There are many things you can do to participate in the movement individually or with […]
Posted inOpinion
Accountability is a Joke
Guest Writer: Adam Sutton Accountability has been a required buzz word when talking about school reform for 20 years. It ties results to school spending. In particular, test scores and student achievement data are expected to rise with spending. Accountability’s current usage is useless and divisive. Accountability, as it stands, is a way to lay […]
Posted inOpinion
Restorative Practices, Exhausting Teachers
Restorative Practices (RP) is the new darling of education circles. As its goal, RP seeks to interrupt and halt the school-to-prison pipeline while helping students overcome and cope with trauma. To do this, RP relies on developing relationships with students which enables them to reflect on and repair the harm they have caused. RP’s […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
All Of The Good Teachers Have Already Quit…Or Are Thinking About It
Good Teachers: “Ms. Greer, we need to take your planning period today. We have a class of students in In-School Suspension (ISS) who need coverage for their third period. I know you had a webinar scheduled for our upcoming unit on parallelograms, but you can watch that at home. We need all ‘hands’ on deck, […]