Stories

As part of my job as an educator, I have, at times, had to restrain teenagers. I was trained to do so. It is my least favorite part of my job. It feels sca

I grew up believing that excellence is not an option, but rather an obligation.  I breezed through high school. I didn’t have to study hard to do well on a

Early in the school year, after our daily Pledge of Allegiance, my fifth grader, Cassandra, asked, “Why are people mad when Colin Kaepernick kneels during

If I were a magician for a day, I would strike my wand and eliminate the memory of the coronavirus as well as its impact. Instead, I am a high school senio

I swear this country is ass-backward. In last week’s Senate hearing, Dr. Anthony Fauci—the nation’s leading expert on the coronavirus pandemic—said outrigh

Like an uninvited guest, the COVID-19 pandemic swept into town, upending the school year and our very way of life. As we reinforce the need for social dist

My students and I are entering our tenth week of remote learning, all of us isolated from one another and from our shared classroom space. I know that each

The state of Mississippi is often the butt of many jokes revolving around intelligence and education—or lack thereof. These jokes don’t happen for no reaso

I have a distinct memory of playing catch with my dad in a public park during middle school, when a stranger yelled at my dad, “Go back to the country you