student support
Our Students Don't Need to Be 'Fixed,' But We Can Heal Together
I'm sitting in my classroom, hunched low in my comfortable teacher chair. The lights are off. I’m rubbing my eyes and my temples in an attempt to massage out the remnants of a mild headache. It’s...
student support
This Is Where I Convince You to Become a Mentor for a Young Person in Your Community
Toward the end of last year, my colleagues were writing wrap-ups to the decade and providing strong analysis of what had been won or lost in our education debates. But I couldn't bring myself to...
Politics
Yes, Politics Do Belong In The Classroom
As I reflect on a controversial piece I wrote shortly after Donald Trump Jr. referred to educators as “loser teachers,” I remember one specific comment from the aggressive back-and-forth online...
Achievement Gap
There Are So Many Things Wrong With This Piece in 'The Nation.' Here Are My Top 4.
On New Year’s Eve "The Nation" published an analysis by Jennifer Berkshire called “The Democrats’ School Choice Problem.” Her piece is instructive because it illustrates a strategy commonly employed...
student support
I Will Never Again Teach at a School Without Dedicated Mentoring Time for Students
For many educators, January is a time to return to our jobs revived and renewed after the holiday season. For teachers at Rhodes Junior High in Mesa, Arizona, January has a special meaning because it...
bias
27 Mistakes White Teachers of Black Students Make and How to Fix Them
Editor's note: This article was updated on July 24, 2024. A few years back, I was in my room meeting parents during an open house days before the school year started. A woman walked in, looked up...