Every school year, suburban parents appear on the news because they are outraged by school lunch served to their children. Let me paint the scene. Parents are appalled by the subpar lunch options. The news station interviews the parents and then the parents find out the school lunch is okay based on guidelines from the…
Corporal punishment is a divisive topic. Back in May, I even received criticism from some people at my church for a blog post I wrote on my website about how “spare the rod; spoil the child” is not in the bible and why Christians need to stop using it to justify their discipline practices. Whether…
Saturday, September 15, 2018 is the first annual World Afro Day, a day to celebrate black hair in its natural glory. According to the World Afro Day website: World Afro Day is a global day of change, education and celebration of Afro hair, culture and identity. Everyone is welcome on this journey. We have two…
Watching movies in class is generally a taboo subject. Yes, it happens. Most teachers have done it at some point but doing it too much tends to give one a bad reputation. That is because showing movies in class has become synonymous with “mailing it in” or laziness. And, in many instances, that is actually…
Anyone who has ever taught at both a suburban school and an inner-city school has probably noticed the difference in the number of students that are identified as needing special education services. Many have long suspected that students of color seem to be disproportionately classified with a learning disability. According to a new study, that…
The Indiana Department of Education recently announced that there will be delays in announcing the results of the ISTEP exam. Pearson, the testing company that administers the ISTEP, is having difficulties with the grading of a graphing question and student responses in grades 3-8 and 10. Pearson claims only a small number of students are…
The recent financial problems of Indianapolis Public Schools have been very well documented. Shrinking enrollment and funding along with high facility costs have taken their toll on the school district over the years. Luckily, IPS has discovered a bit of good news in recent days. The deficit for the 2018-19 school year will be significantly…
As an advocate for high-quality early childhood education, I am well aware of the importance of preschool. I have also had to personally debunk the myth of preschool closely resembling your average daycare which includes play, snack, a coloring learning sheet or craft and then more play. In my quest for finding a high-quality preschool…
Listen as Shawnta S. Barnes speaks about the trauma policing black hair brings to children and how it interferes with the real purpose of schools.
Listen as Shawnta S. Barnes shares her thoughts about a common hope among black parents.