When my alarm went off at 6:30 a.m., I turned off the alarm on my phone and went to social media to see who had won an oscar. I valued my sleep over watching the 94th Academy Awards. I immediately noticed Will Smith was trending. My first thought was, “He got his first Oscar; it…
If you are a parent, you know that a school break can lead to complaining. Your children may complain even if you take them on a trip that you had to save up for a year by putting away a percentage of each paycheck. A top complaint from our children is that they are bored….
“The number one rule in my family: honor your parents. They’re the supreme beings who gave you life who sweated and sacrificed so much to put a roof over your head, food on your plate … an epic amount of food. The least you can do in return is every single thing they ask, of…
One resource you expect to find in schools is books. Books are used to inform, persuade, or entertain. Textbooks fall into the category of informing students with the necessary knowledge to learn concepts. For the most part, textbooks are not the center of controversy. Instead, the focus has been on children’s books, novels, and informative…
I know I am late to the party, but I finally watched “Abbott Elementary.” Do police officers like watching “Law & Order?” Do doctors like watching “Grey’s Anatomy?” Part of television watching for me is escapism. Although “Abbott Elementary” is a mockumentary, and has a similar vibe to “The Office,” I was not sure if…
During my second year in the classroom, I studied popular holidays with my students. During my undergraduate studies at Purdue University, I learned the importance of students having a say in what they learn. I gave a survey to ask for student input. Many students expressed enjoying learning about holidays in elementary school, and they…
This week, two years ago was the last week of what many of us called normal life. The year 2020 was a couple of months in and many people declared they were going to have 20/20 vision throughout the year. Unfortunately, that vision had a huge blind spot, and we entered a pandemic that impacted…
I love the term Black Excellence because it highlights the fact that Black people can also achieve at high levels. We know this, but Black adults know that Black children need these reminders and some of our non-Black counterparts need to be reminded as well. However, Black Excellence can become a double-edged sword and put…
28 days (29 when there is a leap year) are not enough to cover the depth that is Black history. Since Black history is American history, there is no reason why this history should cease just because the calendar moved from February to March. Earlier this month, I talked to a teacher about the book…
As if teaching during a pandemic is not already hard enough, Texas teachers have been given another task. This task threatens to damage their relationships with students and their parents. Earlier this month Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton released an opinion on Texas law. This opinion stated that gender-affirming medical care for children is a…