It’s that time of year when the school year is coming to yet another end. While some students exuberantly await the start of their summer vacation, others are scrambling, beseeching, and working hard at last to hopefully avoid summer school attendance or worse — getting retained in their current grade, otherwise known as “getting left… Continue reading To Promote Or Not To Promote: That Is The Question.
We need more diversity in the teaching pool of the NYC Department of Education. It’s just too white and that shouldn’t be a newsflash to anyone. I’ve said it before and I will continue to strike that same note and will not stop speaking and writing this truth until the paradigm shifts and more teachers… Continue reading Dear Chancellor Carranza: Keep Making Them Mad!
Legacy, legacy, legacy, legacy Black excellence baby, you gon’ let ’em see Legacy, legacy, legacy, legacy Black excellency, baby, let ’em see” Jay-Z, “Legacy” I’m up early this morning and these lyrics by one of the most profoundly impactful rappers of our time takes on a whole new meaning for me and resonates deeply within… Continue reading Ode to My Son, Christian Hemans, On His College Graduation
It’s been six months since John has been home and the question that most people ask about his reentry focuses on whether or not he’s found a job. That’s telling in and of itself but that’s another post for another day. For John, securing employment once home from prison has always been of the utmost… Continue reading The Mismatch Between Prison Education and Actual Employment: A Real Life Account.
Around this time every school year, I reflect upon my professional glows and grows as well as my students’ academic and social progress. This year is no different. The four key things I learned this 2018-2019 school year are: (1) It’s beneficial to build relationships with all students in my school — whether I am… Continue reading Of the Four Key Things I’ve Learned This School Year, This One Stands Out The Most.
We haven’t heard much about the undocumented children being detained in U.S. concentration camps on the news any more, but I haven’t forgotten about them. I hope you haven’t either. We cannot afford to forget about or neglect our children — all children. All of them have value. All of them have futures. All of… Continue reading In a Sanctuary City Like NYC, Are Our Most Vulnerable Students Safe from Harm?
I begin this post by acknowledging the life and the community work of the late Ermias “Nipsey Hussle” Asghedom. He was a tangible example of what I teach my students about the power they have to define and transform their lives even from the most harrowing of circumstances. Although many, including myself, never had the… Continue reading Mentoring Is a Necessary Pillar of Education and Community: Thoughts on Nipsey Hussle.
The phrase “school-to-prison-pipeline” is, for many, an impersonal educational buzzword like “rigor” and “standardized tests.” For others like me, it is an educational and societal mishap happening right before their eyes. Even more damaging, it is a wrathful system that’s swallowed children up and they now live with its dire consequences. These children are disproportionately … Continue reading “The School To Prison Pipeline Is Very Personal To Me”: A Teacher’s Plea To Destroy It.
Here we go again. Yet another teacher in yet another school has assigned yet another assignment pertaining to slavery that is asinine and insensitive. According to The Tennessean, The hand-written assignment, which touched on issues of slavery, immigration and child labor, was given out Wednesday in an eighth grade social studies class at Sunset Middle. One box… Continue reading We Tried The Integration Route — It’s Not Working. Afrocentric Schools May Be a Viable Answer.
I had a whole blog post planned out about yet another example of educational disparities on Long Island when I read this in ERASE Racism: The vast majority of Long Island students attend low‐ and average‐need districts. Only 14% of all Long Island students attend high‐need districts. There are, however, extremely large racial and… Continue reading Complaining Doesn’t Win Educational Revolutions – Civic Engagement Does! Here Are Some First Steps from Your Local Activist.
