Posts from March 2018
I Marched for All the Students That I’ve Lost to Gun Violence
I was only 11 years old the first time I witnessed a murder. I knew the man who was shot, and I saw his face…
Rapper Vic Mensa Says We Need More Therapists in Schools Not Guns
In a recent video with ATTN, rapper Vic Mensa makes the case for combating gun violence in schools with more therapists, not cops. “Instead of…
The Students I Met at ‘March For Our Lives’ Are the Change I Want to See
On Saturday, my friend and I made our way to March For Our Lives by taking the D.C. Metro to L’Enfant Plaza. Among our fellow…
Principals Can’t Build Strong Schools When They Have to Spend So Much Time on Discipline
Recently, East Providence High School’s wrestling team was caught with alcohol, drugs and vaping products on a team trip. As punishment, the wrestling season came…
Illinois’ Race for Governor Is a Competition on Who Can Be the Most Silent on Education
Here in Illinois our governor will either be a Democratic billionaire businessman philanthropist or a Republican multi-millionaire businessman philanthropist. Both have a long record of…
Black Children Being Harvested for Profit and Charitable Rappers are Fueling My Hope and Outrage This Week
Outrage: Black Children Are Being Farmed Like Cotton “Black children are the new cotton, people are trying to harvest them for their per pupil funding.”—Words…
I Refuse to Bury Another Student
Yakez Semark was a bright, warm, charismatic 20-year-old whose life ended several weeks ago due to gun violence. He was also one of my first…
I’m Going to #MarchForOurLives Because, Honestly, How Can I Not?
Protest has been a topic for a long time around my house. Like a lot of people, I participated in the Women’s March in January…
I Found the Right School for My Son With Autism and It’s Only Because I’m White and Have Money
It’s March, and all over the country, students and their families are waiting anxiously to receive emails and letters about the status of school applications;…
States Won’t Hold Schools Accountable, That’s Your Job, Betsy
Of all the boneheaded things Education Secretary Betsy DeVos said during her disastrous “60 Minutes” interview, the one comment that portends the most far-reaching damage…