Our Students Have Incredible Power. Let’s Teach Them to Use It Well.

Juan moved to California from Central America last year. When he first began school, he couldn’t recite numbers in English and could only count to…

Want to Keep Teachers of Color at Your School? Recognize Their Work.

I reread it slower this time, an email sent to 40+ staff members with the subject line, “Congrats and Great Work,” from my principal. The email was…

If Your Students Can Relate, They Can Read, So Give Them Culturally Relevant Texts

As a teacher, I know that to get students learning they must first enjoy the idea of learning. Teaching English language arts may seem easy,…

Don’t Forget, Not Every Student Had Opportunities for Enrichment This Summer

This summer, my students and I learned that blue crabs are really feisty, but mosquitos are even feistier.  For two weeks in June, I chaperoned…

You Won’t Fix Providence’s Public Schools Until You Tackle the Root of the Problem

The recently-published report on Providence public schools, where I teach and where my children learn, contained just one major finding. That finding didn’t have to…

Social Emotional Learning Needs to Become How We Do School Not Just Another Thing We Do at School

Earlier this month, the fire alarm went off at my school as students were entering the building in the morning. For most people, this signifies…

Illinois Has Fixed Its School Funding Formula, But That Didn’t Help My Student

Kylie, now an eighth-grader, came to our school in second grade. In her six years with us, she came to think of our school as…

When I Failed My Student, Restorative Justice Picked Us Up

During one of my daily writing warm-up exercises Alex, a sophomore in my remedial English class, decided to exercise his defiance by yelling, “Get off…

No Teacher Should Be an Island

I didn’t quite understand what it meant to be an “island” until I started teaching eight years ago. For years, I was the only United…

Stop Teaching Like Technology and the Internet Don’t Exist

It’s tough to take an individualized approach to teaching by using technology in the classroom. Even when the technology is there—which it often isn’t—the teacher…