I’m Teaching My Students How to Read and Think Beyond the Headline

We’ve all been there. A tempting headline, a picture too startling to keep our fingers at rest. We skim through the article. We write a…

Forget Implicit Bias, Let’s Talk about Explicit Bias in Education

Last month I kicked off a training on ways to use language as an asset to unleash the critical thinking potential of English learners with…

Would We Advocate for Boys in Hoodies the Way We Advocate for Boys in MAGA Hats?

Educational empathy. That’s what guides me in my work with students. It’s the very foundation of my educational advocacy. “How would a student feel if…

America Has Always Used Schools as a Weapon Against Native Americans

When Michelle Obama and her husband visited students of the Standing Rock Sioux Nation in North Dakota in the summer of 2014, she met students…

How to Save Charter Schools From the Beatdown

There seems to be an organized assault on charter schools. Legal challenges, bureaucratic barriers and smear campaigns all work to destroy their reputation, deplete their…

My Native American Students Don’t Need to Be Taught About Racism But They Do Need a Space to Talk About It

Just this year alone, Kanye West has said slavery was a “choice,” Roseanne Barr compared former Obama Advisor Valerie Jarrett to an ape, Starbucks closed…

Does Standardized Testing Help Students?

Every state uses standardized tests to find out how students in public schools are doing. Federal law requires it. But why? And how do standardized…

Why Is Oklahoma City Blocking This School for Native American Kids?

Having grown up on a reservation in Reno, Nevada, Phil Gover of Oklahoma is committed to improving education for Native American students. In the summer…

School Discipline Doesn’t Have to Be a Pipeline to Prison, It Can Be a Teachable Moment

A decade ago, I happened upon a story that shook me. In the midst of an emotional outburst, a 6-year-old kindergartener had been removed from…

What It’s Like Teaching From Inside a Suicide Epidemic

If you’ve read past the title you already know what this post is about. If you’re still reading, it’s because you want to learn more,…