Diversity
Cultural Competence Only Goes So Far. Kids Need Teacher Diversity.
I am a middle school science teacher. When covering the laws of physics, I teach that “every action has an equal and opposite reaction.” This statement has applications beyond Newtonian formulas. I...
Achievement Gap
Black Boys' Can Help You Reach African American Males in Your Classroom
The week that it was Black History Month, I grabbed two assignments. One from a district that was serving mostly white kids, and they were reading the Letter from Birmingham Jail and they were, as...
Teaching
Dear Black Students, Your Freedom Will Not Come From What You Learn in School
The master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house. Audre Lorde Dear Black Students: I understand how frustrating it must be to see all the anti-Blackness in the world now and feel unprepared...
bias
Breonna Taylor Didn’t Get Justice, But It’s Not Too Late to Save Our Kids From a Country Set Out to Kill Them
Before we even get started, I just wanna say that the Grand Jury ruling Breonna Taylor’s killing justified is bullshit. https://twitter.com/PeeplesChoice85/status/1308860771200368646?s=20 Now that...
Achievement Gap
Black Excellence Does Exist and It Lives in Our Kids
I’m guilty of saying Black boys and girls are failing in school—a good chunk of us are. Going forward, I’m committing to correcting that language and mindset because I’ve realized how dangerous and...
Diversity
Yes, White Teachers Still Need to Be Ready to Talk to Students About Race
“What’s the difference between a killing and a lynching?” The question popped up on my phone through the Google Hangouts app I installed in March. Since starting remote learning, my students Gchat me...