In this piece, I will use several terms, such as multilingual language learners (MLL), English language learners (ELL), and English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL). My preferred term is MLL which acknowledges that we don’t want English to replace students’ native language (s), but instead, we want students to be literate in their native…
Join us for this three-perspective series. Indy K12 writers David McGuire, Andrew Pillow, and Educator Barnes provide their perspectives and thoughts about the recently approved IPS Rebuilding Stronger plan. Thursday, November 17, IPS approved its Rebuilding Stronger plan. This plan will include sweeping changes to the district. Many Indianapolis residents feel the only certainty in…
While majoring in English education at Purdue University, multiculturalism was important. In one class, we read the book “White Teacher.” Tell me you are not expecting Black college students without telling me. I read enough of the book to participate in class discussions, but I was frustrated. Where was the book for me? How would…
Turn it off. Turn it off. Running water. Turn it off. Turn it off. Save the power. Turn it off. Turn it off. Running water. Turn it off. Turn it off. Save the power, yeah. Turn it off when you brush. It’s a five-gallon rush. Get the lights and TVs Don’t forget the CDs Turn…
After the first report card is sent home, it is time for conferences. COVID-19 forced schools to rethink conferences, and some of those elements have remained. Below, I will outline different conference models and recommend which model is best. Parent/Teacher Conference This conference is focused on the relationship between caregivers and the teacher. The child…
For six weeks, the Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley: Let the World See exhibit has been at the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis. This traveling exhibit was a collaboration between The Emmett Till & Mamie Till-Mobley Institute, the Emmett Till Interpretive Center, the Till family, and The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis. The exhibit focuses on the…
If you grew up during the 90s as I did, you probably know the song “Regulate” featuring Warren G and Nate Dogg. Early in the song, you hear, “Regulators, mount up.” In other words, get control before you get controlled. I assert this same energy can be directed to the classroom. Teachers either regulate or…
Come and let’s play together in the bright sunny weather. Lets all go to Gullah, Gullah Island. Gullah, Gullah, Gullah, Gullah. If you sang instead of read these lines, you might have been a child who watched “Gullah Gullah Island.” The show featured a Black family who lived in a fictional place called Gullah Gullah…
My husband, Jermaine Barnes, and I went to the same elementary school, middle school, and high school in Indianapolis, but we first connected online on Black Planet (a social media platform at the time that helped you connect to other Black people). When we connected online, we both were students at Purdue University. His major…
In fourteen hundred ninety-two Columbus sailed the ocean blue. Many adults know these lines. After hearing these lines as children, adults were told that Italian explorer Christopher Columbus discovered America. Wondering if times had really changed, at the dinner table yesterday, I asked my sons who Christopher Columbus was and what they had learned about…