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Category - Belief Gap

  • Accountability
  • Belief Gap
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  • Let's Talk About It

Dear Educators…Can We Talk?

February 5, 2018
by Dia Jones
6 min read
1 Comment

Why do so many of you hate children? Maybe hate is a strong word. Shall I say really dislike? I ask myself this question daily when perusing education sites on socials and chatting it up with coworkers in common areas. As a...

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  • Belief Gap
  • Equity and Justice
  • Let's Talk About It

Is the Road to Special Education (for Black Boys) Paved with the White Educator’s Paperwork?

November 25, 2017
by Kelli Seaton
10 min read
3 Comments

“This ink pen is my weapon.” -Anonymous Teacher Many studies note that there is an over identification of Black boys to special education.  While serving as the Teach For America Vice President with Teacher...

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  • Accountability
  • Belief Gap
  • Equity and Justice
  • Let's Talk About It

Black Degrees Matter

March 22, 2017
by Sharif El-Mekki
5 min read
3 Comments

Earlier this week, our Councilwoman, Jannie Blackwell, called for a public hearing on the low enrollment and graduation rates at colleges and universities for Black males in Philadelphia. David Hardy, founder of the Boys’...

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  • Belief Gap
  • Equity and Justice
  • Higher Standards
  • Let's Talk About It

Do You Know This Hidden Figure? Meet Legendary Resister, Dr. Anna Julia Cooper – A Black Educator Hall of Famer

March 3, 2017
by Sharif El-Mekki
4 min read
1 Comment

“The cause of freedom is not the cause of a race or a sect, a party or a class-it is the cause of human kind, the very birthright of humanity.”  A multitude of hidden figures silently loom in our shadows, yet those...

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  • Accountability
  • Belief Gap
  • Equity and Justice
  • Let's Talk About It

One Foot in His Mouth, the Other Foot Stomping on Black Students’ College Aspirations

February 26, 2017
by Sharif El-Mekki
6 min read
1 Comment

Recently, John Eichelberger, a Pennsylvania lawmaker made remarks that were insensitive, devoid of intellectual curiosity and logic, and projected a biased and racist posture towards “urban kids.” Eichelberger is the chairman...

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  • Accountability
  • Belief Gap
  • Let's Talk About It

Striving for Excellence, Without the Excuses

October 23, 2016
by Sharif El-Mekki
5 min read
Add Comment

I’m concerned about the growing backlash against what are referred to as “no-excuses” schools. Too often, critics depict overly-rigid approaches to discipline that pave the road from school to prison. I agree that too much...

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  • Accountability
  • Belief Gap
  • Equity and Justice
  • Higher Standards
  • Let's Talk About It

The War Waged Within (our Schools) Against Our Black Boys

July 20, 2016
by Sharif El-Mekki
5 min read
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“An educator in a system of oppression is either a revolutionary or an oppressor.” –Lerone Bennett, Jr. There is a war going on. When war is mentioned, most folks will immediately think about what is happening overseas or...

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  • Accountability
  • Belief Gap

The Lures of the Privileged

May 13, 2016
by Sharif El-Mekki
7 min read
2 Comments

I wanted to weigh in on two recent articles about testing. As a current charter school principal, former Philadelphia School District teacher and principal, recent Principal Ambassador in the US Department of Education, and CEO...

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  • Belief Gap

I’m Fighting For the Liberation of the 7th Ward Where ‘Education is the Problem of Problems’

May 2, 2016
by Sharif El-Mekki
4 min read
11 Comments

Many of our greatest community activists, freedom fighters, and nation builders spoke to us about the sanctity of a rigorous education and how it must be used to uplift, embolden, and liberate. Douglass, Malcolm, Martin, Newton...

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  • Belief Gap

Why We Need Black Men (and Women) to Answer the Call and Teach

April 26, 2016
by Sharif El-Mekki
3 min read
2 Comments

Our situation as a people is too critical and precarious to afford us the luxury of members who have the opportunity to serve, but feel no need to do so. -Asa Hilliard Had you asked me 25 years ago—and someone did—if...

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