Zachary Wright
Blogger
Teacher
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
RECENT POSTS
Posted Dec. 11, 2019
Black Kids Don’t Need to Sit Next to White Kids to Learn
WHAT WE GOT WRONG: Over the last decade, and indeed for longer than that, those fighting for justice, many of them White, have largely looked to integration as the panacea for educational inequity.…
Posted Dec. 10, 2019
Democrats Are Finally Talking Public Education, But You Probably Won’t Be Invited to the Table
I couldn’t believe it. Finally, education was going to take center stage at the 2020 Public Education Forum. All the…
Posted Nov. 8, 2019
School Choice Is Progressive
“Progressive” is a slippery word. The very term denotes improvement, progress, and thus is by nature a desirable term with…
Posted Oct. 29, 2019
We Need to Learn About Trauma to Help Kids Who Need Us Most
Everywhere you look, our schools are filled with traumatized children; children struggling not just to learn and succeed, but to…
Posted Oct. 21, 2019
‘Leveling’ Teachers Doesn’t Always Level the Playing Field for Kids
Imagine you’re a new teacher in a traditional public school district. You have spent the summer planning for and worrying…
Posted Oct. 8, 2019
In the Age of Social Media, Our Kids Need All the Mental Health Support They Can Get
As a parent in his mid-thirties, I know that my childhood is totally unlike the childhood of my children. Sure,…
Posted Oct. 3, 2019
We Can’t Just Teach About Heroes and Holidays and Call It Culturally Responsive
In a recent training on culturally responsive teaching, I was introduced to a theory called the “Stages of Multicultural Transformation.”…
Posted Sep. 5, 2019
Classroom Teachers, I Bow Before You
Classroom teachers, I bow in deep, humble and honest reverence and respect before you. It’s been a year since I’ve…
Posted Aug. 6, 2019
Toni Morrison Was the Brave and Honest Storyteller of Our Vexed History
As a high school English teacher, I had the privilege of teaching Toni Morrison’s “Beloved,” a novel I’ve read and…
Posted July 30, 2019
White People Need to Understand That Helping Is Not the Same as Controlling
A few weeks ago, I attended a conference called Educator Summit in Philadelphia. I’m not much of a conference attendee…
