Many people believe that summer school is a waste of time but I think summer school definitely has its place. However, even given the advancements that Chancellor Carmen Fariña has put into place, there is much room for improvement. One way in which we must improve our system is by abolishing social promotion, which is… Continue reading Summer, Summer, Summer School – Summer School!
How do I begin my quest to express just how amazing Lakisha Odlum truly is? Without a doubt, she is the most dedicated, knowledgeable, highly motivated and highly effective English teacher I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with. For four consecutive years I had the privilege of working alongside Lakisha Odlum as a member… Continue reading Shout Out to Pedagogical Powerhouse Lakisha Odlum!
Max Eden, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, has developed a nifty new tool for parents to determine the safety level of individual schools. Luckily for Gothamites, one of the two cities available is our very own (the other is Los Angeles), chosen specifically for their status as the two largest school districts in… Continue reading Is Your Child’s School Safe? The Answer is a Click Away
I recently read an article by a young woman currently enrolled in The Beacon School, an elite public high school in New York City. This young woman, part of a coalition of teenagers and adults under the hashtag #teenstakecharge, is using her voice to demand a more equitable school experience in an otherwise highly-segregated public… Continue reading What Does an “A” Mean? A NYC Teacher Tackles Accountability
As New York City continues to debate ways to make their schools less segregated following a very contentious rezoning process, a new narrative has emerged: Parents are willing to go to schools with racial diversity. Parents are even willing to go to schools with socioeconomic diversity. What they are not willing to do is go… Continue reading A Parent’s View of Mixed Ability Classrooms From the Top – And Bottom – Of the Class
I was walking to my classroom on Friday and on my way, I saw a group of girls walking towards me. Three were Indian and two were Black; one of the Black girls wore her hair in an Afro. I said “hi” to all of the girls and made a point of saying to the… Continue reading I’m A Black Teacher and That Helps My Students
When I went on break today and checked my Facebook page, I began reading the usual stories of love, tragedy, comedy, politics, and spirituality that run the gamut of my feed. However, my jaw dropped when I read this post. (I’ve deleted names to protect privacy.) Got a call from the deans office at my… Continue reading “I Am Not Your Nigger”: Racial Slurs Run Amok in Schools Across America
The hunt for a magic bullet to fix American education continues. At one point the big buzzword was Finland (while ignoring all the differences in Finland’s teacher training that, as of now, would never fly in the US). Then it was PreK For All (while ignoring that, as currently implemented in NYC, it’s actually hurting… Continue reading A Parent’s Perspective on the Benefits of Teachers of Color
On Friday I had a fire in my apartment. Everyone is fine, thank God, and I’ve been taking care of the clean-up, paperwork, and phone calls that come along with having a fire in one’s home. I paused from these duties to check my emails and, much to my surprise, I saw the picture above… Continue reading Against All Odds, He Graduated: The Kedrick Screen, Jr. Story
Kiara Damon first started thinking about college when she entered fifth grade at Williamsburg Collegiate Middle School, a Brooklyn charter school run by the Uncommon Schools network. “It was always college, college, college,” Kiara said. “We were always the class of 2021, not the class of 2017.” Kira was one of 87 graduating seniors from… Continue reading From Dream to Reality: The Entire Class at this Brooklyn Charter School Is Going to College!
