This year, teaching is lonely. Like many other districts across the country, we are teaching and learning online for the foreseeable future. I desperately want to be back in person with my students, but our national leadership is more concerned with political gain than American life. Wearing a mask is a political statement, cases aren’t […]
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Posted inFrom the Front Lines
Ending White Supremacy is a White Educators’ Fight
Imagine walking into your classroom and seeing something completely different. Every child has been fed, is well-rested, and wearing clean clothes. Your classroom is stocked with all the materials you and your students need. As you move through your day there is plenty of time for art, music, science, and history. There is no standardized […]
Posted inOpinion
Can You Talk About That in Elementary School?
By: Dr. Rachael Mahmood “Can you really talk about that in elementary school?” My colleagues often ask me. Then think for a moment and confirm, “I don’t think you can!” As an elementary school teacher, I often feel the need to close the door when talking to students about sensitive social justice topics like race, […]
Posted inBack to School
2020: An Educator’s Summer of Waiting on COVID-19
When the 2020 Summer Olympics were postponed, I knew there would be a new event that would test the mettle of educators, students, parents, and other stakeholders in education. It’s trivia-based, and it has only one question. It’s called “What the hell happens in the fall?” COLLEGE What happens in college is as varied as […]
Posted inHistory
I am a White Social Studies Teacher, and I am a Coward
For three consecutive Black History Months, I have picked up and then quickly put down the Black Lives Matter at Schools resources. Why? Because I was scared. I was worried that my white colleagues might think of me as radical. I was concerned that white students would grow uncomfortable and declare “that all lives mattered.” I fretted over the […]
Posted inSocial Justice
White Privilege and the Power of Revision in Education
My first honest conversation about white privilege came much too late in life. I was a 40-something doctoral candidate taking a class on multicultural education with a dozen other white women. Thankfully, the course was taught by the same (white) professor whose mantra became my own: The more I learn, the less I know. This […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education
Race-Conscious Reading For Preschool
Guest Writer: Marisa Lark Wallin Initiating conversations about race and culture in your regular reading can help young children resist being socialized into white supremacy. Black Lives Matter At School national week of action will happen this February 3-7, 2020. There are many things you can do to participate in the movement individually or with […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
The Quest for the “Perfect” World Literature Book
I’ve been on summer break for almost three weeks. I’ve done a lot in that time: visited my parents, worked on a county curriculum review, started reading some professional development books, etc. There is still data training looming at the end of my break. Such fun! I only have about four weeks left before pre-planning […]