Have you signed up for The Educator’s Room Daily Newsletter? Click here and support independent journalism! Editor’s Note: Over the past year there has been a growing number of states seeking to surveil teachers and curtail the content and curriculum they teach. Many states have implemented laws that limit conversations about race, racism, LGBTQ+ identities, […]
civil rights
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
It’s Hard to Fight for the Truth If You Lose Your Job
Have you signed up for The Educator’s Room Daily Newsletter? Click here and support independent journalism! Editor’s Note: Over the past year there has been a growing number of states seeking to surveil teachers and curtail the content and curriculum they teach. Many states have implemented laws that limit conversations about race, racism, LGBTQ+ identities, […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Do Black Lives Matter At School?
Hey, teacher: did you know that the week of February 5-10, 2018 has been designated Black Lives Matter At School? Did you know that Black Lives Matter at School is a thing? According to Teaching for Change, an organization dedicated to social justice, the first full week of February promotes three demands: End Zero Tolerance, […]
Posted inBook Review
A Comic Book Helped to Inspire the Civil Rights Movement
My school district recently purchased a class set of the March Trilogy, the graphic novel memoir that recounts the experiences of Congressman John Lewis (5th District, Georgia) in America’s struggle for civil rights including the marches from Selma to Montgomery. The comic book-style illustrations are engaging and some may mistake the memoir as something for children. Lewis’s experiences in the […]
Posted inSocial Justice
Failing our Poor Students: A Crisis of Morality and Character
Our schools aren’t failing, we all are. When outcomes for our poorest students are the concern, education reform advocates like to point to”failing schools”, but it’s not just about schools. It isn’t out-of-touch middle class parents, teachers and their unions, or civil rights organizations willing to challenge the “school choice” narrative. Those are only convenient scapegoats […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education
Considering the Case for Betsy DeVos
I am not a fan of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. I wasn’t fond of Arne Duncan either. And after working under John King when he led New York’s schools I didn’t cheer for his appointment. But Betsy DeVos represents a different challenge to public school teachers, students, and families. I shared feelings of anger, fear, […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Uncategorized
Harper Lee's Impact on My World
In early 1998, I sat in my Honors 9th Grade Literature Class with several of my friends. So far that year, we had already discussed our summer reading, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, read works by Edgar Allen Poe, and play-acted Romeo and Juliet. Now, we were going to start a book that […]
Posted inElementary School, Instruction & Curriculum, Kindergarten, Opinion, Social Studies, Uncategorized
In Defense of Affirmative Action: The Difference Between Opportunity & Results
This year begins with a very significant anniversary in the United States. One hundred fifty years ago, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. It was probably one of the most significant documents ever entered into our Congressional Record based on the change it incited. As we return to school this new year after a […]