Like many states around the country, Maryland has struggled with the decisions about how and when to reopen schools. Last Thursday, January 21st, Maryland’s Governor Larry Hogan made clear that schools in Maryland would reopen by March 1st. Like a playground bully, Hogan threatened anyone seeking to resist his orders. He implied a willingness to […]
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Mrs. Kramer’s 1970’s Childhood Challenge
Guest Writer: Kristina Kramer After 30 years of teaching and 14 years of being a parent, it wasn’t the books, the courses, or the counseling that would so clearly encapsulate the purpose of my job as an educator and mom. It would be a 30-second video clip of a 10-year-old boy on a bike that […]
What Would Be Worth A Staff Professional Development Day? Vaccinations for Texas’ Teachers
Texas’ prioritization plan excludes front-line essential workers from the next tranche of shots, including the state’s nearly 2 million food and agricultural workers, according to the Feeding the Economy trade group. Teachers and school staff, police officers, manufacturing workers, U.S. Postal Service employees, and public transit workers are also among those who are prioritized under […]
Global Education: What We Don’t Teach Has Never Been More Important
As adults in a time of crisis, we turn to familiar sources. I find myself these days interested in the efforts of South Korea, in the singing balconies of Italy, and in the ways in which different nations have dealt with the virus. It helps me to interpret what is happening around me, and what […]
Teachers, If You Can’t Tell the Truth, You Might Need a Different Job
What Is “Too Political,” Anyway? There has always been a political line in the classroom, though its definition is becoming increasingly obscure. In 2008, I remember asking my teacher who they voted for, and they demurred, saying it wasn’t their place to say. That’s what I thought teachers were supposed to do. And in some […]
Opinion: After Trump, Civics Can NEVER Be the Same
I received a powerful but simple text message from my state assemblyman hours after the January 6th siege on the National Capitol: “Your job as a civics educator has never been so important.” [bctt tweet=”“Your job as a civics educator has never been so important.”” username=””] I couldn’t agree more. And yet, for legions of […]
How Covid-19 Has Changed Public Education Forever, But Not Everyone Has Gotten the Memo
There was no way to know precisely how the world would change when the novel virus Covid-19 began to take hold globally. Economies were shut down, many people lost their jobs, people got sick, people died, national lockdowns went into effect, and schools closed three months early in March 2020. Common Core is no Longer […]
Separate But Unequal in Education: The Evil Stepsister of Separate and Equal
Rodney Walker is an African American U.S History teacher at a public school in Virginia. He is also an author specializing in alternative history and has published two novels. He speaks French and has spent four years teaching in North Africa. The notorious “Separate but Equal” doctrine may not have passed the litmus test of […]