As a public school parent, I feel pressured to take a solemn oath of loyalty to free government schooling as if these schools are little temples of a high democratic order. I comply, mostly, uncomfortably, because whether I want...
Tag - Justice
If there is anything corrupt in the world of charter schools you can expect Mercedes Schneider to blog or write a book about it. Yesterday she wrote about a student walkout at a Sacramento charter founded by Michelle Rhee and...
While there is a growing number of people who compare today’s America with murderous, racist, and xenophobic actions of “yesteryear,” no, we are not living through another Holocaust – Native American, African or...
Each year in May, America observes Teacher Appreciation Month — a time when we pause to reflect upon and honor the life-changing impact that educators have on our children, and the important contributions that educators make to...
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...
“Until we, as a nation, collectively acknowledge and address the unique challenges that teachers of color face every day, we cannot claim to be truly valuing them.” There is a mismatch in our schools and without smart...
I am the co-founder of The Fellowship: Black Male Educators for Social Justice. My personal favorite Black male educator? That’s easy. Mr. Brian Freeland, 7th grade social studies. His approach to education felt radical. What...
In third grade, I remember learning about Martin Luther King. We listened to his “I Have A Dream Speech.” We read about Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycotts. We looked at photos of the marches in Selma. We were...
It has been great to see the activism of students be expanded. While student activism didn’t begin with the Parkland youth, I am still glad to see them join the ranks of students of color who have been on the front lines for as...
Betsy DeVos’s blistering interview a couple weeks ago on 60 Minutes was a disgrace. I have students, plenty of them, who could demonstrate more awareness about schools, charters, teaching and learning than the U.S. Secretary of...