At its best, education broadens the way students view the world and their place in it.
Photo: http://www.bu.edu/articles/2018/a-seat-at-the-table/ A seat at the table. A phrase so ubiquitous that few bother to examine it, it has a totally different meaning for those offering “the seat” than it does for those to whom the offer is extended. And therein lies the problem, a problem greater than those who make the decisions generally realize. …
Photo: https://www.aarp.org/politics-society/history/info-2020/civil-rights-leaders.html It’s time to hear the “I Have a Dream” speech again. After all, it’s the third Monday in January, the date set aside to celebrate Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. And that speech, delivered during the 1963 March on Washington, has come to epitomize everything that most people want to remember about …
Continue reading "Let’s Agree, Finally, to Stop Whitewashing Dr. King"
Photo: https://www.howtogeek.com/229419/how-to-create-and-better-manage-amazon-wish-lists/ As this new year begins and everyone is busy making resolutions, I’m not. Instead, I’m considering the educational changes I’d like to see. While some are the sole province of education’s power brokers—decisions that impact education on a broad scale—others are changes within educators’ grasp. They’re the kind we can enact in our …
Photo: https://www.gettingsmart.com/2018/09/why-students-should-co-create-the-classroom-from-day-one/ Education is the only profession that everyone has seen daily, up close and personally, for years. Unfortunately, that gives many the false impression that they know all there is to know about it, that it's actually quite easy to undertake and that virtually anyone can do it. Perhaps that partially explains the previous …
Photo: https://www.fox5dc.com/news/some-of-the-most-powerful-anti-racism-signs-seen-in-the-dc-protests Since we all learned American history in school, certain “facts” are just universally understood, right? For example, remember the colonists who fought against England in 1776? They secured “inalienable rights” for everyone in the country, based on their Declaration of Independence statement that “all men are endowed” with those rights, didn’t they? And …
Photo: https://education.utexas.edu/departments/curriculum-instruction/research Viewing the horror of George Floyd’s murder stunned the nation, galvanizing international protests in a collective demand for justice. Now, whether you experienced the searing pain of combined grief and outrage or simply saw it as a tragic incident, one truth remains for all educators: George Floyd will be in your classroom this …
It’s funny the way a document intended to be supportive and helpful can be misinterpreted. The meme shown above supposedly lists CDC guidelines for reopening schools. However, it’s actually riddled with inaccuracies. Seemingly unaware of that fact, many people vented their anger and dismay on social media over the past week, seeing the guidelines as …
Continue reading "What Does the CDC Really Say About Reopening Schools?"
Photo: https://www.politico.com/video/2020/09/24/the-abc-of-racial-inequality-in-education-091860 Can we talk? Virtually every educator seems to have an opinion on the pandemic’s impact on education. It makes it harder; it makes it easier; it requires too much technology; it boosts creativity over technology. And on it goes. However, what few people are talking about is the glaring spotlight this pandemic has …
Continue reading "Education Inequities in the Pandemic Spotlight"
Photo:https://www.tampabay.com/news/health/2020/03/31/10-uplifting-stories-of-tampa-bays-creativity-and-kindness-amid-coronavirus/ It’s been several weeks now. And some parents have begun to complain quite audibly about their children having to learn at home. As one parent put it to me a few days ago, “too bad they couldn’t switch to virtual classrooms, keeping kids in the same daily routine and receiving direct instruction.” Essentially, she …
Photo;https://www.education.ne.gov/ When the current school year began, no one knew it would end this way. Now, schools across the country have closed amid a pandemic, many of which are closed for the remainder of the school year. As a result, teachers are devising creative long-distance lessons, students are learning from home, and parents have been …
