Like most people who attended school in the ’90s and early 2000s, I fully brought into the college = success, no college = failure ideology. I came to teaching as an aide at the age of 22 and expected to encourage students that they must attend college, no other paths. I learned a hard lesson […]
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Posted inCurrent Events in Education
What Teacher Choice in PD Should Look Like
We all know how it feels to attend a half-hearted PD session we don’t think will be useful in our classrooms. Maybe it’s the content that feels irrelevant or the structure of the session. Whatever the cause, teachers are tired of attending PD that doesn’t fit our personal needs or the needs of our school […]
Posted inConfessions of a Teacher
Teacher Confession: The Student I’ll Never Forget
I have a teacher confession to make. I failed him. Not “gave him an F” failed him but failed him as a young man. A student with a future ahead of him, someone who could one day be a father, a councilman, or even president. But I failed him. It was my second year as […]
Posted inCollege and Career
Activists Are Needed in Education
The year: 1980 Activists in education are needed now more than ever. I was thirteen years old when I saw this coming. A smug ex-actor with Brylcreemed hair dropped a condescending line in a presidential debate. That isn’t a big deal by itself, especially when you consider how low the presidential decency bar currently is. […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Teaching Abroad: The Pros and Cons
I’ll never forget the moment I had the idea to teach abroad. I was a stay-at-home mom with my brand new twins, and I wasn’t feeling like my fun, adventurous, extroverted self. As I was scrolling through Facebook, I came across an article about a single mom of three who was living her best life […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
But You’re Such A Strong Teacher
“But You’re Such A Strong Teacher” “But you’re such a strong teacher. I hate this phrase. As a new teacher, it took me a while to understand what this phrase meant. At first, I believed it to be a compliment. I thought it meant I was doing a good job in my classroom and with […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education
Is Your Teaching Experience an Abusive Relationship?
I know the title is a heavy one, but it’s a thought I’ve had since I started in this profession. I am in an abusive relationship with teaching. I know this isn’t everyone’s story. I see teachers all over Instagram discussing the love and dedication they have for their schools. Their leadership is great. Their […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Teacher Empowerment: Fight the Powers that Be
You gotta go for what you know To make everybody see, in order to fight the powers that be -Public Enemy Public Enemy’s song, “Fight the Power,” was a call to action in the late 1980s for African-American communities (and beyond) to get more political and take a stand against the “powers that be.” When […]