Special Education
Betsy DeVos on the Verge of Removing Civil Rights Protections for Students of Color
Let’s just call her Betsy DeVoid. Our secretary of education earns a name-change because of her predilection for voiding guidance that protects our most disenfranchised students. First, it was...
School Discipline
Nick Didn’t Need Another Suspension. He Needed to Know I Loved and Believed in Him.
Nick was a sixth-grader who, before joining my classroom, had been suspended from several of his previous schools. He is easy to pick out in a class of 30 students not because he is Hispanic, but...
Diversity
I’ve Never Been Quick to Call Someone Racist, But I’ve Had Enough of This ‘Monkey’ Business
Outrage: We’re Not Your Monkey, Nigger, Niggah or Nigga I want to believe that everyone who “accidentally” says, “nigga,” “niggah” or “nigger” because their favorite rapper says it, is sincerely...
California
This Isn't the Time for a Teacher Strike in Los Angeles
On August 14, public schools in Los Angeles opened their doors to 700,000 wide-eyed students eager to learn. On August 23, the teachers union began a strike vote, claiming that labor negotiations...
School Choice
How the New York Times Got It Wrong on School Choice and Segregation
After a much needed break from all things education, I returned to find an op-ed in the New York Times from Antioch University writing professor Erin Aubry Kaplan about school choice. I hate arguing...
Politics
It's Not Real School Accountability If No One Is Held Accountable
What do voters consider most important when it comes to public education? According to a recent poll commissioned by the largest teachers union in my home state of Oklahoma, it’s not money. It’s...