Shawnta S. Barnes

Shawnta (Shawn-tay) S. Barnes, also known as Educator Barnes, is a married mother of identical twin boys. She navigates education from not only the educator’s perspective but also the parent’s perspective. She has been an educator for nearly two decades. Shawnta works with K-12 schools, universities, & education adjacent organizations through her education consulting business Blazing Brilliance. She is an adjunct college professor, supervises student teachers, Indy Kids Winning Editor-in-Chief, Brave Brothers Books Co-founder, & CEO, and Brazen Education Podcast host. She holds five education licenses: English/language arts 5-12, English to speakers of other languages P-12, library/media P-12, reading P-12, and school administration P-12, and she has held a job in every licensed area. Previously, she has served as a school administrator, English teacher, English learners teacher, literacy coach, and librarian. She won the 2019 Indiana Black Expo Excellence in Education Journalism Award. In 2023, she completed her doctorate in Literacy, Culture, and Language Education with a minor in Learning Sciences. She is an urban gardener in her spare time and writes about her harvest-to-table journey at gardenershicole.com. To learn more about Shawnta, visit educatorbarnes.com.

Posts By Shawnta S. Barnes

School Discipline

Getting Pepper-Sprayed by School Police Shouldn't Be a Part of My Job

I have only felt the terrible sting and discomfort of pepper spray one time, and that was when I was teaching and coaching teachers in the high school setting. The last lunch had dismissed. Students...

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COVID-19

Here's How You Can Prepare Your Children for Remote Instruction

This week, some Indianapolis students will begin the 2020-21 school year. This includes my twin sons. Their district, Washington Township, has decided to reopen remotely. The difference between the...

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bias

I Was the Only Black Teacher, And I Quit My First Job After Six Months

Why would a teacher submit her resignation for her first teaching job out of college in February of that school year? The answer is racism, mistreatment, and oppression. I was the only Black teacher...

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student achievement

Teachers, Why Are We Quicker to Call Parents About Kids' Behavior Than About Their Academic Performance?

Recently, I came across a tweet that resonated with my beliefs: https://twitter.com/CocoCurls1517/status/1214887613536120833?s=20 This is problematic. As an educator, I know behavior and academics...

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Teaching

The Week Before Winter Break Doesn't Have to Be a Nightmare

One of the hardest weeks of the school year is the week before winter break. The turn up is real. Students start acting as if you didn’t spend the first few weeks of the school year forcing them to...

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activism

These Students Let Their Textbook Publisher Know Nobody 'Needed' Slavery

Fourth-grade teacher, Laura Wooley, was preparing her students for an upcoming social studies test using a McGraw-Hill textbook. During the course of the review, her students found an issue with the...

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