There Is a Right Way to Process Current Events With Your Students

The certification of the electoral votes from the 2020 election was already going to be a contentious issue, but the events that transpired go far…

Black Students Are Waiting for a ‘Jingle Jangle’ Moment

“Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey” is a new Christmas movie on Netflix that premiered earlier this month. The movie begins with two children sitting in…

How to Teach Students About Political Debates

With elections around the corner, political opponents all around the country are sparring off against one another in televised debates. This includes, but is not…

Our School Already Started and It’s Not Like Anything I’ve Ever Seen

School buildings closed across the country last spring, and now, they are reopening. The reopening plans vary state to state, city to city, and from…

Getting Pepper-Sprayed by School Police Shouldn’t Be a Part of My Job

I have only felt the terrible sting and discomfort of pepper spray one time, and that was when I was teaching and coaching teachers in…

It Will Take More Than a Name Change to Rid Your School of White Supremacy

There is a myriad of disparities and gaps that exist in our society, placing people of color at a disadvantage. We are seeing this play…

Here’s How You Can Prepare Your Children for Remote Instruction

This week, some Indianapolis students will begin the 2020-21 school year. This includes my twin sons. Their district, Washington Township, has decided to reopen remotely.…

Faced With a Global Pandemic, My Students Have Grown in New Ways

As school wrapped up this last year, several of my students joined my online “office hours” not seeking out help with the content, but instead…

Let’s Focus on Our Students’ Health and Humanity, Not on ‘Getting Back to Normal’

I almost forgot we were stuck at home. My daughter’s pre-K class was on a field trip to the zoo through a Zoom meeting and…

This Juneteenth I’m Challenging Educators to Emancipate Themselves From a Colonized Curriculum

When Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, this marked the end of slavery in the United States … that is what a lot of people…