Teaching in Philly is hard. Five billion dollars are necessary to complete all outstanding repairs in our buildings. Teachers reach into their own pockets for classroom supplies, playing the roles of librarian, counselor, and...
Tag - Black Lives Matter
On Wednesday, February 6, 2019, I had the honor of speaking at the Black Lives Matter in Schools Week of Action rally last week. The audience was mostly educators, with a few powerful students (several spoke as well). It is good...
In recent months, notable people within school reform circles have locked horns over a trifling question: Does the inclusion of social justice activists, people derided as “warriors,” in education reform threaten the...
One teacher reflects on what he and other white educators need to understand as they work to build anti-racist practices and identities. Last year, I realized that I didn’t have my first black teacher until I went to college...
Shanita Hubbard recently wrote a piece in the NY Times that should serve as a further wakeup call for the white folks who don’t see color, avoid raising their kids in a way that teaches them about race and racism, and the Black...
My friends, Ismael and Ashley Jimenez, describe an haunting encounter they had while #ParentingWhileBlack at a movie theater a few days ago. The police were called on them in order to harass and intimidate them. Meanwhile, what...
In the article Is the Road to Special Education (for Black Boys) Paved with the White Educator’s Paperwork?, we meet Randy for the first time. Some Context Let’s imagine something for a moment. There is a Black father...
“History is not the past. It is the present. We carry our history with us. We are our history. If we pretend otherwise, we literally are criminals.” -James Baldwin The Eagles have celebrated their first national...
Everyone has a “why.” It informs their motivations, their purpose, their drive and commitments. When you work on behalf of children and in service of communities, your “why” is crucial. As in why did you...
“I fear I may have integrated my people into a burning house.” -Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Yesterday, January 15th, we celebrated the Dr. King holiday (which also coincides this year with his actual birthday). While some...