“Teachers get off at three o’clock. They don’t work a full day.” “Teachers get summers off and all those holidays.” These are the comments that teachers often hear that make our skin crawl. If our workdays are so cushy, why aren’t people lining up to take our place? Folks who make these remarks never seem… Continue reading Lets Talk About Days and Hours Worked
If I were asked what in my experience was the number one obstacle to teaching an effective lesson in the classroom, the answer would undoubtedly have been an unruly or disruptive student. A young girl or boy who was lacking discipline or a child who wanted to be the constant center of attention could cause… Continue reading No Smartphones Allowed!
People choose to become educators for a variety of reasons, and become them in a variety of ways. Mr. Stevens became a physical education teacher because he wanted to bring together helping people with his passion for sports and physical activity. Ms. Long became a teacher as a result of her interaction as a youth… Continue reading Becoming An Educator
I’ve taken great pride in creating an African American Studies course for my school that explored not simply African American History, but African Americans through the lens of history, the arts, and culture. Gearing up for my third year of teaching this class, I was notified that I was going to teach Latin American Studies… Continue reading The Apollo Video Oral History Project
“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 sent out the following tongue-in-cheek email to my family and a few friends on my last day of teaching: Did you hear about the disturbance that took place in Harlem at 11:45am today? Apparently there was this teacher dancing down the streets in celebration. He walked out of the rear door of his school… Continue reading Why Was This Teacher Doing The Funky Chicken On 116th Street in Harlem?
“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.
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!
One of my very best childhood friends who has known me since we were the same age of the students that I’ve taught over these years had a question for me. He asked, now that retirement has arrived, what were my goals when I first began teaching and did I meet these goals? An interesting… Continue reading Veteran Teacher Explains How He Went From A “Babe In the Woods” to “Developing a Clear Vision.”
One of the most difficult challenges we face as educators is preparing our students for life after they leave “the bubble”. What I mean by “the bubble” is the exclusive Black and Brown world my students currently inhabit and navigate. They are almost exclusively Black, Latino, or Muslim. In school, most, but not all, of… Continue reading How Does This Harlem Teacher Help His Black and Brown Students Navigate Life “Outside the Bubble?”
