Late Wednesday night, February 22, 2017, around 9pm EST, the Trump Administration released its new directive that rescinded the federal protections for transgender students in public schools and universities. Policy until this point, passed in the Obama administration, directed there be protection for all students equally, to ensure they had access to the bathrooms, locker […]
Opinion
Protesters Were Wrong to Block Betsy DeVos From School
One of the continuing traditions of my classroom is to display 100’s of inspirational and thought provoking quotes. And one of the quotes I have on that border is by famed Chicago journalist Sydney J. Harris, who says, “The whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows.” While I’ve had more than my […]
The Hazards Of the Accelerated Reader System
I am so fed up with the way our school systems use, or, rather, misuse, the Accelerated Reader (AR) testing system. I work with struggling readers on a daily basis, kids who hate to read because it is difficult for them to do so. I view my job as a teacher to help ease the […]
Books Matter
I love books. There is something about them. The smell, the heft, the feel. . .The way kids respond. Because for all their complaints, most kids, most high schoolers, like books. Books matter. So my classroom is filled with books. So filled with books, it has become the smallest regular classroom in the building. Two […]
An Invitation and a Demand for Equity in Mathematics
I heard a refreshing voice today. One that silenced the annoying diatribe I have encountered so many times in the past regarding the mathematics dilemma. (Caution: A moment of personal trajectory coming in 3…2…) As an African-American womyn, I am twice marginalized by the discipline of mathematics, and yet access to it has catapulted me […]
‘Hillbilly Elegy’ and the Blight of Rural Schools
“I was one of those kids with a grim future,” author J.D. Vance begins in his book Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis. “I almost failed out of high school. I nearly gave in to the deep anger and resentment harbored by everyone around me. Today people look at me, […]
Why This Social Studies Teacher Attends All Inaugurations
“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States… So help me God.” The first time these words were spoken was during George Washington’s First Inaugural whereby […]
Are You a LUCKY Teacher? Take This Quick Quiz to Find Out
My students and co-workers probably get tired of hearing me say it year after year. But I mean every word of it: I am the luckiest teacher I know. Most days there is nowhere in the world where I would rather be than in my classroom with my students, teaching a subject that I revere, on […]