It Was the Worst Moment of My Teaching Career, And I Was the Problem

One of the best teachers I have ever known has a tattoo on the inside of her wrist of the snake from “The Little Prince.”…

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, that’s a truism. But perhaps…

The Case for Supporting the Mental Health of Your Students

Four seniors at Ánimo Jackie Robinson—a Green Dot high school that opened to bring more high-quality, public education to historic South Central Los Angeles—chose to…

A Psychology Professor Explains How Racial Trauma Impacts Students of Color

Dr. Maryam Jernigan-Noesi has been thinking about and studying children’s mental health since she was a child herself. I recently talked to her about the…

What ‘Surviving R. Kelly’ Means for My Black Daughters and the Schools They Attend

As the Black mother of two Black girls, I am always acutely aware of how Black girls are harmed in this society. However, there are…

Excellence Is Not a ‘White Thing’

“Mom, the kids at school said I act White,” my daughter told me one afternoon a few weeks ago. I asked her why. “Because I…

Being a School Principal and a Parent of a Special Needs Child Took Me Under, But I’m Coming Back

For five years, I was principal of one of the most difficult schools in my urban district. In those five years, I had eight supervisors.…

Why the Department of Education Finally Needs to Accept That Education Is a Civil Right

As a 5-year old kindergartner, I was threatened with my first suspension for being talkative and “disruptive” in class by my almost 70-year-old White teacher.…

Our Students Need Every Educator to Speak Up to Ensure DeVos Hears Our Support for Restorative Justice

In my decade in Chicago Public Schools as a social worker and currently as a behavioral health specialist, I’ve learned a great education goes beyond…

Even When Teachers Don’t Feel Safe, They Don’t Support Guns in the Classroom

Hear us teachers loud and clear: We do not want to be armed, and we do not want to work in prison-like school buildings. We…