One of my favorite stories is Homer’s Iliad. Within are stories within a story. One involves the heroes Achilles and Hector. Both were the alphas of their sides and dedicated to meet on the battlefield. Hector believed he...
Tag - Black communities
Rest in peace to Mr. Earl Simmons, popularly known as DMX. I pray that his soul is at rest. What fascinates me about the life of a person, particularly artists who become celebrities, are the events and moments that fueled the...
We all know that a teacher’s instructional skills matter for students. But a growing body of research shows that their background and life experience matter, too. This is especially important for students of color: while all...
There has been an admittedly welcome rush to support Black and brown communities and causes in our national reckoning with systemic racism. Some $5 billion of philanthropic funding has flowed in support of racial equity work in...
Before we get into today’s piece, let’s get a few things clear from the top: My wife and I have five… yes, one, two, three, four, five… kids at home with us right now. They range from 9 to 17, but frankly that...
The coronavirus has completely thrown the world as we know it upside down. Movie theaters, restaurants and retail stores are closing around the country as governors wrestle with maintaining a level of normalcy while at...
Mayor Buttigieg, a presidential candidate who was gaining in some polls and in Iowa, wows some folks with his talk about equity, also, like most politicians (and educators for that matter) appears to operate with a deficit...
There is no doubt that global warming is contributing to a plethora of issues impacting human beings; one of which is how vulnerable communities recover and mitigate flooding. The Climate Strike highlights these issues but also...
At Mastery Charter School Shoemaker Campus, I’m not just a teacher; I am a warrior for social justice. Education in America, wherein we have legislated who can learn and with whom one can learn, is inseparable from...
I’ve known gun violence. Intimately. An in-law was gunned down at his front door by police responding to a “Black burglar.” He was fortunate to live. In college, my roommates were threatened by shotgun-toting White...