Lonnie Johnson is not necessarily the most famous of black historical figures. We typically think about this time as being reserved for civil rights leaders and abolitionists…which obviously makes sense given how important their contributions were. However, Lonnie Johnson’s contribution likely had a profound impact on your life or more specifically your childhood. Lonnie Johnson…
I wasn’t a good student. As a matter of fact, I barely got into college. I got in but only based on the strength of my ACT…certainly not my pedestrian 2.3 GPA. This might lead you to believe that I struggled in college, but nothing could be further from the truth. In my first semester,…
In my first year of teaching, I was thrust into the role of a basketball coach. It was mostly because there was nobody else willing to do it. So, a former teacher and I took on the job. I remember thinking it was way more work than I expected. I remember resenting and calling out…
It’s Black History Month. The time of the year specifically designated to celebrate black achievements and pioneers in America. This month, thousands of teachers, black and white dug into their teacher resources looking for their handouts on slavery and the civil rights movement. Here is a challenge for celebrating black history moving forward: Don’t do…
Kobe Bryant, his daughter, and several others were tragically killed in a helicopter accident last week. Normally, I would have started that sentence with a hook like, “unless you have been living in a cave or under a rock…” but I truly believe there is nowhere you could have been and not heard about his…
High school seniors all over the country are anxiously awaiting their college acceptance letters. Many students will find that they’ve been accepted to multiple colleges. Typically, students apply to a few different schools and when they get their letters conventional wisdom says to pick the “best” one… with best usually referring to academic reputation. This…
The fight for Pre-K is underway across the country. Parents, educators, and policymakers all over are clamoring for high quality early learning programs claiming that the benefits of preschool are too great to be ignored. A federal-funded program study has corroborated their claims. A recently released report has found that preschool expansion yields academic gains….
“I’m not here to be liked.” This is a refrain that can be heard in classrooms across the nation. Usually right after a student says something along the lines of “I hate you” or “That’s why nobody likes you.” There are of course multiple variations of this refrain, too. The “I don’t need to be…
When I first started teaching, around 2011, a new social media platform called Pinterest was all the rage. The basic idea is that each user would be able to create and save (pin) content to their boards. This site took off with many people, especially teachers. Almost overnight, teachers found an outlet and an audience…
The news has been quite sensational lately. As teachers, oftentimes, our first instinct is to hide the news under the guise of “protecting them” from the real world. We may strategically avoid or even straight up ignore current events, but this isn’t the right approach. It doesn’t work. Students are more connected to the world…