I am sitting in the back of the school bus. Waves rock my body as we navigate the red sandy-washed roads. I’ve been riding in traditional yellow buses just about my whole life as a student, teacher, and chaperone. This time is different. Traditional Navajo songs echo through the bus, intermittent with the news Dine’ […]
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Reassessing How We Test: A Pandemic Proof Call for Action
“Will this test even count?” One of my students unmuted briefly on Zoom to ask about the impending end-of-year state assessments. A normally reticent child who preferred clicking his responses away in the chatbox, spoke up confidently now as if on behalf of the whole class. I stammered my way through a response that sounded […]
To Mask Or Not To Mask? Wear the Mask; Protect our Kids
Since nearly the beginning of this pandemic, the very idea of masks has been politicized. A study, Politicizing the Mask analyzed demographic and voting data to confirm what many of us could conclude anecdotally. States and areas that supported Trump are significantly less likely to wear a mask. We can now see this playing out […]
Teacher Burnout and The Pandemic: The Impact to Mental Health
In 2020, the world was taken by surprise as COVID-19 shut down everything. On March 11, a pandemic was declared by the World Health Organization, resulting in global changes and restrictions. Stores closed, restaurants resorted to take out only, airlines closed flights to need basis only, most businesses converted to either online-only or closed their […]
Reinventing Pandemic Schooling: More than Making Lemonade from Lemons
Dr. Helen Hoffman is a veteran teacher, author, and advocate for better schools. With 30 years of teaching at both the high school and college level, Helen’s mission is to shape the future of education by helping teachers create school experiences that are more engaging, enjoyable, and purposeful than our current ones. Her new book, […]
Life Lessons from Mister Rogers and Mrs. Hughes
I can remember it clearly. I was sitting on the floor next to my sisters and watching a small box television mounted on top of a T.V. tray that was not built to hold a T.V. We sat on the floor as we heard that familiar sound of a child’s piano playing. We would get […]
Equity, Access, and Affirming Deaf Identity
Michele Lamons-Raiford is a hearing American Sign Language (ASL) teacher at Pinole Valley High School in the West Contra Costa Unified School District. She has been a High School teacher for the past nineteen years, as well as an Adjunct Instructor at Solano Community College for the past fourteen years. She has a BA and […]
Whichever Way You Cut It School in 2020 is Hard
Guest Writer: Dr. Noor Ali, Principal, Al-Hamra Academy Fall 2020 school reopening has been a tricky, tricky business. It has been a time of untold stress and unfathomable planning. It has required flexing of all our known boundaries and delving into the great uncertainty that only a pandemic could unleash. From is this really a health […]