“Mister, can we speak with you?” three young ladies asked as they approached me one day between classes. They were there on behalf of a fourth young lady, their friend Danielle. It was prom season and Danielle wanted to go but didn’t have the funds. From time to time I would anonymously pay for things… Continue reading A Very Special High School Prom Conspiracy Abetted By A Very Special Teacher.
“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.
Teachers, our students need us. Let me make that statement more personal: My students need and appreciate me. How do I know? They told me so in birthday cards that they wrote for me last Friday. For the first time in my career, I had a student with the same birthday as me (June 7th)… Continue reading “I’ve Been Hard to Manage But You’ve Taught Me So Much.” A Teacher Considers Her Impact.
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?
Of the 55 million students who attend U.S. schools, 46 percent will experience a mental health disorder in their lifetime. And one in five of our young people live with a mental health condition, but less than half receive treatment. These are staggering statistics that speak volumes about an epidemic facing our school children, especially… Continue reading Mental Illness in Our Schools: A National Crisis
Danielle Asher is the Director of Curriculum and Training for Family Leadership Network, a division of the social justice nonprofit, Choice For All in Roosevelt, NY. Ms. Asher works with families and communities to shift the culture of what leadership looks like while working towards anti-racist and equitable systemic change. Danielle works locally and nationally to… Continue reading Family Engagement: The Missing Link to School Reform
“You want me to do what?!” I said with mock disbelief. Some of my students were helping to plan our school’s annual spring break college tour where they visit universities up and down the east coast during their Easter vacation. They asked me if I would help chaperone their trip. I responded, “let me make… Continue reading Teachers, Do You Know Your Limitations? Let Me Tell You Some Of Mine!
This is a guest post by Jose Romero, a high school senior in New York. He aspires to become a fifth-grade teacher, so he can give kids the support he received from his mentors and teachers of color. It has appeared in TNTP and on Education Post. For 10 years—the first decade I was in school—all… Continue reading NYC High School Student Explains Why A Diverse Teaching Force Matters — And What He’s Going to Do About It.
“Our challenge is to see the seed or opportunity buried in the soil of conflict.” Dedicated to my heart, my nephew E. Henry Phoenix, Arizona is hot! Muy caliente! It’s so hot that afternoon school sports teams often practice in the evening, after the sun has set. Like many schools, the day begins by 8:00… Continue reading Conflict Resolution, Or, The Story of My Nephew Henry.
According to CNN, “a Texas charter school is apologizing after a teacher gave an assignment to an eighth grade American History class, asking students to list the positive aspects of slavery.” As outraged as I am, I wish I could write that what happened at Great Hearts Monte Vista School is an isolated incident —… Continue reading The First Step towards Achieving Educational Equity for Black Students Must Be Hiring More Black Teachers
