Dear White Teachers of My Black Children: I am a Black mom. I know it’s sometimes hard to decide whether to say Black or African-American. I used to identify as African-American because I loved hearing the reference...
Tag - professional development
One of the main reasons we launched the Center for Black Educator Development, was to provide professional learning opportunities for current and aspiring Black educators. We were honored to have two fantastic Philly-based team...
Ask me what I think about school discipline and I will give you an answer born out of my time steeped in education tea. A decade ago I campaigned for school board saying I thought children should have safe, orderly, and rigorous...
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...
Increasingly, schools are returning to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs in order to better understand how to support students. As anyone who has taken an introductory psychology course knows well, Maslow’s psychological theory...
There are six Black male teachers in our school. They represent twelve percent of our classroom teachers. That sounds like only a few (and it is) but in a city where Black men represent four percent of classroom teachers, it...
As a new teacher and career changer, I owe so much to the coaching prowess of Mrs. Yvonne Savior. That’s right, even her name was Savior, and it was her guidance and support that helped me have the impact I sought with my...
Principals, if you don’t have your staff hired and ready for back to school, you have my sympathy. As all school leaders know, the best hiring season for teachers is early in the calendar year (around January to March). At...
If you have ever done a privilege walk, you know it can be a very moving, and sometimes emotional, visual of how some of us have been given opportunities and head starts and others of us have not. In the video above, the...
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...