Mental Health
We Need School Discipline Reform But We Also Need to Protect Teachers
One of my second-graders, Tony, generally entered the classroom happy. But it took a very small thing to make him furious. Tony, who had been diagnosed with anger impulsive disorder, would get angry...
Washington D.C.
I Marched for All the Students That I’ve Lost to Gun Violence
I was only 11 years old the first time I witnessed a murder. I knew the man who was shot, and I saw his face opening as the assailant “unloaded” on him. His head hanging back on the headrest, neck...
California
The Students I Met at 'March For Our Lives' Are the Change I Want to See
On Saturday, my friend and I made our way to March For Our Lives by taking the D.C. Metro to L’Enfant Plaza. Among our fellow riders was a little boy and his mom. The boy wore knitted mitten toppers...
Charter Schools
Illinois' Race for Governor Is a Competition on Who Can Be the Most Silent on Education
Here in Illinois our governor will either be a Democratic billionaire businessman philanthropist or a Republican multi-millionaire businessman philanthropist. Both have a long record of investing in...
California
I'm Going to #MarchForOurLives Because, Honestly, How Can I Not?
Protest has been a topic for a long time around my house. Like a lot of people, I participated in the Women’s March in January 2017. Around that time, I had a discussion with a student who told me,...
Politics
I Refuse to Bury Another Student
Yakez Semark was a bright, warm, charismatic 20-year-old whose life ended several weeks ago due to gun violence. He was also one of my first students. When one of his former classmates notified me...