Teachers are constantly told today to “be engaging!” That incredibly vague buzzword is laced with pressure and expectations that many teachers find overwhelming. We are shown videos of the perfect teacher giving the perfect lesson – you know the type: there’s an expressive and passionate overdressed educator floating around the room, the kids are wide-eyed […]
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Principals: Check on Your Black Staff. We Are Not Ok.
September 23, 2020. This date remains etched in the minds of the Black community. This is the date that the killers of Breonna Taylor were not charged for murdering her in her home. Eerily, September 23, 1955, is also the day Emmitt Till’s murderers were acquitted of his torturous death. As I walked into my […]
Teachers Have Been Betrayed…Now is the Time to Vote
In the last sixty days, the world has exploded into the people who believe schools should start back immediately and the ones who say that during a pandemic schools can wait and at most continue virtually. There have been ferocious Facebook battles between both sides on social media and impassioned pleas in virtual school board […]
The System is Broken But Are We Ready to Fix it?
I cannot count the number of times I have heard “now is the time to reimagine education!” in the last six months. While the majority of people who voice this sentiment are referring to better delivery of online instruction or disrupting our current teaching practices, I think we are missing the crux of our problems […]
Teaching in 2020: Where Everyone Gets a Choice, Except Teachers
As we continue to grapple with the changes that are impacting our communities, school reopening plans are at the forefront of most conversations. It is not hard to recognize that most everyone is flying by the seat of their pants as decisions are made and unmade with little notice. The issue of schools reopening continues […]
Here’s To Our First Year As Teachers During COVID-19
Guest Writer: Callie LaBarbera On Friday at 11:30 a.m. I stared at my cellphone willing the alert that our Governor was live to pop up on my screen. In NYS, I was not alone in doing this. Parents and teachers alike sat with bated breath waiting to hear if the Governor would give us the […]
Opinion: Teachers Are Not Babysitters and I’m Not Returning Back to School
This morning at 6:59 am, I submitted my resignation from teaching in my district on our online portal while I was watching the morning news. Before I hit “submit” I had a moment where I felt guilt over, but three seconds later, it passed and I decided to choose me over my district. After suddenly […]
They Can’t Fire Us All: Illegal Striking in the Time of COVID-19
All it takes is opening up social media, turning on the news, or checking the headlines to see a parade of opinions about opening up schools in the fall. Unfortunately, the opinion getting the most attention is that teachers should sit down, shut up, and get back in the classroom regardless of the circumstances of […]