As a special education teacher, I refer to students who have been identified and labeled by the American educational system as students in need of special education services as exceptional learners. To be quite honest, I believe all students are exceptional learners and benefit from the art of co-teaching, but that’s another article and conversation…
Over this summer, many teachers have been spending a lot of time with family, loved ones and most importantly pondering on if they want to return to the classroom this school year. Teachers are simply tired of returning to schools and school districts that aren’t leading by example. We often hear of pay increases, poor…
Summer vacation is needed for students, staff, and teachers. Period. In fact, I believe that summer vacation should be longer. I wish school would start after Labor Day and end in June right before Father’s Day. If you’re a teacher or non annual employee within the school system, you know how important a break…
I refer to the month of June as freedom month. Summer begins and we celebrate Juneteenth, Father’s Day, Black Music Appreciation, and Pride month in June. But even with the foundation of what’s taught in Black and brown communities on faith, freedom, and fatherhood, many Black people aren’t able to truly be free. “It’s hard…
The pandemic completely exposed the American public education system as not broken but functioning perfectly to continue the growth of poverty in lower and middle class based communities. A system that continues to label and target our students by race, class, and socioeconomic status is a reflection of how powerful knowledge of the system is….
I remember my days of school as a teacher. I remember walking to my first classroom and thinking how I was walking into my destiny. I was an eager, middle school English/Language Arts teacher. I entered my classroom while singing the words to the “Greatest Love of All.” “I believe the children are our future….
I want to be clear about racism in public schools. Innovation can’t thrive in racist school cultures. If we don’t address the elephant in the room now, innovation won’t thrive in the next decades for generations of Black children. So let’s stop simply giving them the first Black president, Vice President … this, that, and…