Why is it a problem for some when academic spaces are comprised of more Black teachers than White teachers? I continue to be baffled by the resistance to this change, especially from White teachers. The reality is that many Black teachers function in predominantly White academic spaces for the entirety of our careers, often without… Continue reading An Impassioned Plea For The Purposeful Hiring of More Black Teachers
“I Chose To Stop Doing Stupid and Start Doing Smart”: A Veteran Teacher Reflects on Lessons Learned.
A bit of what follows will seem defiant to some readers. To other readers, my point of view will be like preaching to the choir. Be that as it may, I’m simply writing about my approach to teaching. As my career progressed, I decided that I was going to stop doing stupid and hopefully do… Continue reading “I Chose To Stop Doing Stupid and Start Doing Smart”: A Veteran Teacher Reflects on Lessons Learned.
After two years of trying to get rid of the Specialized High School Admissions Test (SHSAT) and railing against the lack of diversity in New York City Schools, on Thursday, August 15, 2019, the Mayor and School Chancellor finally unveiled the first change to the NYC High School admissions process in 16 years… which won’t… Continue reading 10 Questions About NYC’s Newest High School Admissions Plan.
How exactly do superintendents get evaluated? After all, holding our top school district leaders is, in my experience, just as important — if not more so — than how teachers and other staff get evaluated. These questions led to my nterview with Dr. Constance Evelyn, Ed.D.author of Evaluating the Superintendent: The Process with Collaborative Compromises… Continue reading “Working Shoulder to Shoulder with Teachers, Parents, and the School Community Builds the Trust To Move To Excellence and Equity”: An Interview with an Expert.
In my 2017 post, Beyond the Zone: All Your NYC Elementary School Options (And How To Get Them) Explained, I mentioned Deborah Meier as someone who didn’t believe that the primarily African-American and Hispanic families of Harlem should be forced to settle for the education their zoned public schools were offering. In 1974, she founded… Continue reading NYC Schools Of Choice: Then and Now
I’d planned to write about the literacy for this week’s blog post, but I could not do that in good conscience without acknowledging a literary genius who affected my life so greatly: Dr. Toni Morrison. Where do I begin? When I found out that she died, I immediately thought of my professor, Dr. Hedda Marcus… Continue reading An Ode to Toni Morrison — And How Teachers Can Continue Her Legacy.
This is a guest post by Dr. Anael Alston, who was born and raised in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. “Dr. A” is currently the Assistant Commissioner for the Office of Access, Equity and Community Engagement in the New York State Education Department. “I am…” declared Michael D. Smith. “My Brother’s Keeper!” nearly 500 young men of color… Continue reading The My Brother’s Keeper Movement in New York State and the Audacious Goal of Success for All
(Photo Credit: Christina Veiga of Chalkbeat) By this point, New York City parents have grown accustomed to the hypocrisy. The hypocrisy of elected officials and celebrities who sent their own children to Screened and Specialized schools, now expressing shock (and judgement) that any other families might want to do the same, and working their hardest… Continue reading NYC School Hypocrisy Continued: Universal Pre-K Edition – Are Parents Part Of the Problem?
School suspensions are a part of the childhood experience for some students. That’s nothing new. Much has been written about the overabundance of Black and Brown students — especially male students — who are funneled through this early entry point of the school-to-prison-pipeline. However, it appears that the tides are changing and, according to the… Continue reading If We’re Under-Reporting School Suspensions, That May Be the Perfect Antidote.
Most of my students are visual learners; I’ve written before about the role Broadway musicals played in my classroom before I retired in June. Motion pictures played a strategic role as well. I wanted to make connections through film that would help students retain content knowledge in my Global History, U.S. History, African-American Studies and… Continue reading This Veteran NYC Teacher “Meets Students Where They Are.” How? Let’s Go to the Movies!
