Following the Chauvin Trial Is Traumatic. Don’t Turn Away.

When we bear witness, when we become the situation—homelessness, poverty, illness, violence, death—the right action arises by itself. We don’t have to worry about what…

7 Steps to Help You Implement Trauma-Informed Practices at Your School

The only way to implement something well is through trial and error. In 2017, I proposed to my principal that teachers should adapt to trauma-informed…

Teachers Legally Hitting Students as a Disciplinary Measure Has to Stop

Here’s a familiar scene: You are attending a professional workshop about America’s school-to-prison pipeline. The gray-suited speaker concludes his presentation to thunderous applause, and yet,…

School Discipline Explained: Why It Harms Students of Color and How We Can Fix It

Over many decades, America’s disciplinary policies, from preschool to high school, have disproportionately affected marginalized students. This difference creates a “discipline gap.” Black students account…

I’m Telling My Story So My Female Students Never Feel Powerless Like I Did

I am a firm believer that in order to become an anti-oppressive educator and advocate, one must fully understand the nature of oppression. While finishing…

Saving Our Children from Violence When Schools Are the Abusers

Each of us has been that lone, righteous educator at the dinner party—that overzealous, overtired reality-checker among adults whose jobs don’t include ensuring the emotional…

Education for Black Kids Cannot Look the Same as It Did in 2020

We lost so many lives this year—lives that could’ve been saved if people just gave a damn for once. And I’m not referring to the…

Teachers Can Legally Hit Your Children in 19 States. Let’s Talk About It.

This past year has tested more than our mettle as educators; it’s tested our investment in the causes we claim as ours. I mean, it’s…

Books Are Essential Tools to Help Children Manage Grief

With more than 200,000 COVID-related deaths nationwide since March, and with the knowledge from a recent Kaiser Family Foundation study that the COVID infection rates…

How to Help Kids Cope With COVID and Back to School Stress

In a year like none other, going back to school—usually a well-established, streamlined process marked by ordered checklists and cheerful first-day photos—has been a long…