Effective teachers can change and save lives, but being a great teacher is hard. The challenge is especially acute in our high-poverty, under-resourced public schools where teacher tenure is lowest. Black and brown students...
Tag - College
As a college junior that has had to navigate the daily obstacle course of a predominately white institution (PWI) as well as a declared English major that has had to succumb to the yearly syllabus with the writings of...
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...
“You all should be super proud! Your kids are out here doing amazing things,” Maye-gan. Read more about what this alumna is up to these days and what drives her decision making. In high school I was involved in...
This is a guest post from Tre Johnson, deputy director for JerseyCAN and a leadership member of The Fellowship–Black Male Educators for Social Justice. It originally appeared on the JerseyCAN blog and was reproduced here with...
“Mr. El-Mekki, I have been thinking…I think I want to be a teacher.” When Rasheen Hill, a West Chester University student and Shoemaker alumnus, visited me last week sporting his Alpha Phi Alpha jacket, he had news that...
It is no surprise to me that quantifiable and quantitative data supports the need for more Black teachers in our public schools. However, unfortunately, at times, I receive messages from people (including educators) saying, “it...
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...
The other day, one of my colleagues on the recruitment team asked me about an applicant to the Teacher Residency program. I had to ask her to repeat the candidate’s name three times. I was stunned momentarily because I had...