Dear Black Friends,
I’m sorry this has happened again. For the second time in two days, and for the umpteenth time over the past few years, we have witnessed (and in the most recent cases watched live) the senseless shooting of innocent Black…
What is “College Readiness”?
Embedded into our society and schools today is an expectation to prepare students for “college and career.” It can be seen in the standards that are taught and in the legislation that is passed. For a long time, the concept…
5-minute PDs
Professional Developments can be tiring – for the presenter and the audience member! In the rapid, time-is-of-the-essence society we live in now, we need to rethink how we are distributing and acquiring information. For my final assignment for my Wake…
Can We Go Outside? Lessons for Your “Natural” Classroom
The weather is warming up, the children (and teachers) are getting antsy for summer break, and you hear the request “Let’s have class outside!” Early in my teaching career, I would have brought outside what we were doing in the…
The (White) Elephant in the Room
When comparing elementary, middle, and high schools against one another, typically our high schools come out as the most socioeconomically and racially diverse. In general, they are the largest of the three levels of schooling, include a number of diverse…
Beyond the 15 Second Video You Watched 10 Times
There is a good chance that within the past 72 hours you have seen or heard about Ron Clark and a handful of the Ron Clark Academy students breaking the internet with their #DoItLikeMeChallenge dance. It’s been covered by CNN,…
16 for ’16
Last year I wrote a “bucket list” (which seemed to be a theme in 2015) at the start of the year with ideas for your classroom called “15 for ’15” Continuing with the theme, I present to you a new…
North Carolina Teaching: “First in Flight”
North Carolina has had a long-standing debate with our friends in Ohio on which state should be “first in flight.” After all, the Wright Brothers were born in Dayton, but took their first whirl with an airplane at Kill Devil…
The Educator Bucket List
I am Type-A. I like lists and things I can check-off. In fact, I have been known to add items to my checklists that were not on there, just so I can check them off. I blame this on my…
Do You Have the Next Dylann Roof in Your Classroom?
Yet again, we have a national tragedy on our hands, one that many are calling a terrorist act, which I will not argue against. This time at a historic black church in Charleston, SC. By now, you have heard the…
