Some mothers have taken e-learning to great levels with cooking lessons and gardening included. I’m NOT that mom. I barely made it through e-learning, and I’m pretty sure I had a glass of wine to celebrate the last day. Now that e-learning is complete; I am faced with all but one of the activities planned…
Amid the horror and sadness of the murder of unarmed Black people at the hands of police officers, we are seeing the coming together of people of all races, ethnicities, and socio-economic status. It is beautiful to see on social media and the news thousands of people exercising their First Amendment right to express themselves…
Over the last nine days, my family has watched the events around the death of George Floyd happen. Along with this, there have been many discussions. My son said he had more understanding of the riots that broke out and protest in connection with the Rodney King beating. He asked if I joined the protest…
IDOE released IN-CLASS (Indiana’s Considerations for Learning and Safe Schools): COVID-19 Health and Safety Re-entry Guidance, a 38-page document detailing recommendations on how schools should reopen this fall. With school start dates in Indiana typically falling during the last week of July and the first week of August, it is critical for school districts to…
At Indy K12, we are unapologetically Black. We want students in Indianapolis to be successful. We know this cannot happen without directly addressing the educational equity issues in our city. We are tired of Black students getting left behind. Many of our readers have thanked us for our thoughts on current issues. We not only…
Recently, I wrote two pieces addressing diversity in education. The first in the series, “If You Want to Keep Educators Like Me, You Need to Think Beyond Your Diversity Quota” addressed why school and district leaders have to do more than just hire diverse teachers; they have to support them. When this was shared, an…
“The world as we have created it is a process of our thinking. It cannot be changed without changing our thinking.” – Albert Einstein Einstein was correct; change comes when we change our thinking. For most educators in the past few months, our thinking about education and school has changed. E-learning is not a new…
During the last couple of weeks, educators have found ways to celebrate students although school buildings remain closed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Educators should not be left out of the celebration. It is important to lift up their labor to serve students. Many times, excellent Black educators are not recognized. Emil Ekiyor, former Indiana…
It did not take a pandemic for me to have experience with interviewing virtually through video. Since the coronavirus pandemic, video interviews have become the norm. At my school, I am the hiring manager for English, English intervention, electives, and the building sub. I have had the opportunity to interview several teacher candidates. Some interviews…
The majority of US teachers are white females. What I know for certain is it is possible that many Black children could go through their entire education without ever having a Black teacher. This means, that each year, I should expect that my twin sons’ teachers will be white females. If you are a white…