We Can’t Protect Our Students From Racism, But We Can Prepare Them to Combat and Reject It

On January 6, when an angry mob stormed the Capitol, I was in the middle of teaching my 7th grade English language arts students about…

I Know What the Challenges Are for Black Teachers and How to Start Fixing Them

I will never forget the moment last year when a seventh-grade African American student came to my door and said, “Mr. Taylor, I just wanted…

We Learned a Lot About What Our Students Actually Need This Year. Now We Must Do Better.

We have all been steeped in the vivid, traumatic consequences of the deadly COVID-19 pandemic, particularly with regard to a year of disrupted learning for…

My Students Deserve to Share Their Stories On Their Own Terms

I found “The Bluest Eye” on my own in my older sister’s classroom books. I was in ninth grade. I can’t remember what I thought…

Biden Is Right, We Need Kids to Go Back to School But Not Like Before

On March 13, 2020, when Governor Newsom shut down schools in California including in LAUSD where my son is now a senior, I held my…

The Only Cure for White Supremacy Is To Teach Students Real American History

On January 6, as my students were learning about the history of trench warfare during World War I, I had no idea that our own…

We Need to Provide Gender Identity-Affirming Mirrors for Our Youngest Learners

J, a seven-year-old boy in my classroom, was bright and energetic, always wanting to help and always starting the day with a smile. J liked…

Discussing White Privilege in an All-White Class Is Uncomfortable. Do It Anyway.

With so many pressing education issues on our collective agenda, it is important that we don’t ignore the national conversation on race that erupted during…

I’m Empowering My Students to Lead Conversations About Race

In late September, I began my class with my usual prompt: Is there anything in the news you’d like to share? My students would generally…

Kids Need Remote Learning to Be Culturally Relevant, Too

Last spring, amidst the uprisings following the immediate failure to bring any sort of justice for George Floyd’s murder, I received a Google Hangout video…