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…

We All Must Call Out Inequitable Grading Practices

Chicago students demonstrated extraordinary character and resilience during the pandemic crisis transitioning from traditional classroom learning experiences to remote learning practically overnight. Yet, resilience was…

COVID Changed Everything About My Classroom

I cried as I set up my classroom this year. This was no dainty, politely fighting-back-tears kind of cry. It was a violent, sobbing, heaving…

I Desperately Want to Get Back to School, But My Students’ Safety Is My First Priority Right Now

I desperately want to return to school in the fall and be with my kids. In the most non-melodramatic, non-trivial way possible—I am lost without…

Advocating for My Students Means Calling Out Racist Statements From Educators

I have done a lot of self-reflection over the last few weeks. I am angry with myself. I, who pride myself on being culturally competent,…

America, I Know You’re Tired: A Letter From a Virtual Teacher

Dear America, Let me get this out of the way first thing: I am a public school teacher, and I wish I were in the…

James Baldwin’s ‘Talk to Teachers’ Is Just as Relevant Today

As I sit here, processing my thoughts on the severity of events that are currently grappling our nation, I reflect on the historical circumstances that…

I Believe in School Choice, But Only When Those Choices Are Available to Everyone

Two weeks ago, the governor of my state directed $32 million dollars in funds from the federal Governor’s Emergency Education Relief (GEER) fund to create…

Why It’s Time to Raise Hell About Reopening Schools

This week, teachers all over the country are holding demonstrations protesting plans to re-open schools for in-person learning. Obviously, there’s heated debate everywhere about how…

Today Should Have Been Our First Day of School

For 14 years I have taught math at the same high school. The entirety of my career—three thousand students, eighty classes, 13 preps, five rooms,…