About Emma-Kate Schaake

Emma-Kate Schaake is in her fifth year of teaching high school English in Washington. She is passionate about educational equity in curriculum design, classroom practices, teacher leadership, professional development, and student voice. She writes about her ongoing journey to unlearn myopic history, self reflect, and think critically about her role as an educator. She can be found on Instagram @mschaake

There’s a lot to celebrate with Joe Biden’s election. The glass ceiling shattered when Madame Vice President Kamala Harris stepped onto the acceptance stage in suffragette white. Black women turned out in record numbers, truly changing the trajectory of the election (thanks, Stacey Abrams!) The fear that many of us lived with under Trump is finally abating. 

And educators are celebrating that Betsy Devos’s tenure as Secretary of Education is almost over. We have the opportunity to replace her with someone who actually has experience in education. Not to mention someone who is has hope for our students and respect for our profession.  

Here are seven progressive educators we’d love to see in the office. 

                                                                                                              *           *           * 

Dr. Bettina L. Love: Abolitionist Teaching to Eradicate Injustice 

“We must struggle together not only to reimagine schools but to build new schools that we are taught to believe are impossible: schools based on intersectional justice, antiracism, love, healing, and joy.”

Dr. Bettina L Love is an Endowed Professor at the University of Georgia and educational researcher focused on the intersections of race, education, abolition, and Black joy. She is the author of several books, including the groundbreaking We Want to Do More Than Survive: Abolitionist Teaching and the Pursuit of Educational Freedom. Love is the co-founder of the Abolitionist Teaching Network dedicated to supporting educators in the fight for justice in schools and communities. She is also a Hip Hop Fellow at Harvard and the creator of the Hip Hop Civics curriculum.

As Secretary of Education, she would prioritize abolitionist education through grassroots activism. She’d promote radical self-care, especially for educators and students of color. Her vision would be a welcome shift in priorities; radical justice instead of the widening opportunity gaps of the Devos era.

Click here for our next pick. 

Print Friendly, PDF & Email