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, [...]
The school in which I teach, and now send my daughter to learn, lies in one of the lowest socioeconomic neighborhoods in San Diego. Nearly all of its students qualify for free and reduced lunch, the vast majority of the students speak English as a second language and teachers teach their hearts out. But there’s [...]
When President-Elect Biden announced his choice for a new secretary for education, a comment was left on the Educator’s Room blog: “Anyone from Connecticut want to weigh in?” Well, I am an educator in Connecticut, but I think weighing in on the nominee Miguel Cardona is premature. Cardona, the Connecticut Commissioner of Education, was appointed [...]
This remote teaching thing sucks, but I realize it’s not about me. What am I going to do about it? I have no magic wand to wave to make COVID go away or to have students do school the way they should be able to without all the social distancing and with all the snack-sharing, [...]
I try to teach my students that language has power. There are many unfortunate classroom moments when teenagers colloquially use words they shouldn’t. Often, after saying something derogatory, students will immediately look at me and explain. “Oh, I don’t mean it like that” or “It’s just a joke.” Most of the time, I do know [...]