The National Education Association’s Read Across America Day happens annually on March 2. This is the day Theodor Geisel, known as Dr. Seuss, was born. The mascot for the day used to be The Cat in the Hat. However, a few years ago, NEA distanced itself from Seuss after conversations about Geisel’s racist cartoons become…
Tomorrow is the first day of March. My sons will wrap up the school year before May ends, so I am already thinking about summer and what they need. In education, talks of summer typically centers around the summer slide which is a phrase to describe learning loss that takes place during the summer. This…
Black History Month is winding down. As I have mentioned before, I don’t typically adjust my curriculum for February as I teach Black history year-round. However, my school celebrates the month by having students across all grade levels choose a person or an event to learn more about during their passing periods. Predictably, many of…
Gender and identity have been prominent in the media lately especially due to a conflict between two Congresswomen at Capitol Hill. Marie Newman, Illinois Democratic Congresswoman, shared a personal reason for why she supports the Equality Act. Her daughter is transgender. She also placed a transgender pride flag outside of her office. Georgia’s Republican Congresswoman,…
When the coronavirus pandemic began and school buildings were closed last school year, at first, it was not clear if standardized testing would occur. Governor Holcomb gave daily press conferences, and my husband and I watched them. Sometimes, we would have our boys join us because we believed it was important for our children to…
Thankfully, we are moving in the right direction and realize that we have to support the whole child. Academics are important and should be a huge focus of school, but students’ behavior and inability to regulate their behavior and emotions can hinder students from learning. Also, traumatic experiences can be a huge hindrance. This is…
Black History Month is quickly coming to a close. This month is a time to highlight Black excellence and remind us all that Black history is part of American history. What happens when Black History Month is over? This is the conversation that many educators and school leaders need to have. Let’s look at some…
One of my fondest childhood memories is switching between my Sega Genesis games. I imagine that this would be the same for many other people. The consoles you had this experience with may vary. Maybe you had this experience with an Atari 2600 or an N64. However, the idea of choosing between your library of…
Cold weather and snow hit most of the county last week, and here in Indianapolis, various districts had e-learning days. While teachers and schools are giving their best efforts, the education many children receive does not meet the standard needed to ensure they have a chance when they get older. The more I think about…
Diversity, equity, and inclusion work has gone into overdrive since the social justice protest happened last summer. At times, it seems like the work only needs to be done by white educators. This is not the case. We all have biases, and we all have blind spots. We cannot move forward until people acknowledge this…