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Teaching True History Is Real Patriotism

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 …

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George Floyd Is in Your Classroom

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 …

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What Does the CDC Really Say About Reopening Schools?

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 …

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Education Inequities in the Pandemic Spotlight

Photo:https://www.huffpost.com/entry/americas-rigged-education_b_5621332 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 placed …

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A Salute to Teachers During the Pandemic

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 …

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Adding Compassion to the Long-Distance Curriculum

Photo:https://www.compassionaterochestermn.org/ In these surreal times, with virtually everyone either under a stay-at-home mandate or voluntarily quarantining, daily life has taken on a completely new look and feel. In the process, education has not only been transformed into a long-distance experience but also now truly does take a village to undertake. Many students are learning on …

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Forget About Tests. Let’s Get Back to Learning

Photo: https://blogcea.org/2016/01/25/cea-proposes-new-evaluation-guidelines-to-promote-student-learning/ Once upon a time, great learning took place in school. New concepts, developing creativity, designing experiments, and discovering talents were all part of the learning. This was “great” as in fun, not “great” as in big and boring. Best of all, students enjoyed the process, and teachers enjoyed facilitating it. Then along came …

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Beyond King, Parks, Douglass and Tubman

Photo:https://www.hrc.org/blog/breaking-barriers-this-black-history-month Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman—these names are virtually synonymous with Black History Month. After all, their contributions to United States history are indisputably noteworthy, firmly cementing their place in curricula across the country. However, it’s time to rethink this central focus. There’s so much more to the history of African …

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