Author: Brother Rann

R. Rakeem Miller, Sr. is an educator with a passion for urban education and a heart for empowering students, families and fellow educators. He is also a husband and a father who is devoted to his family. He has served as a social studies teacher for the past 6 years in Camden City charter schools. He has experience teaching social studies to grades 5 through 12, mentoring first-year teachers, coaching, writing curricula, facilitating professional development and as an assistant principal of school-wide discipline. Currently, he is a director of a federally funded after-school program in the Woodbury City school district. Mr. Miller is honored to be married to his wife of 7 years. Their union has yielded 4 beautiful children. He and his family currently reside in Southern, New Jersey. Mr. Miller is also an author of two books and a contributor to one book. He is the author of The Double D's of Destruction: How Our Distracted and Desensitized Consciousness Is Destroying Our Communities and Failing Our Children and The Cooper Street Offense: A Philosophy for Reaching, Teaching and Discipling Black and Hispanic/Latino Students in Inner City Schools. He is a contributor in Black Male Teachers: Diversifying the United States' Teacher Workforce. He is a graduate of Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey with a B.A. in Political Science and an M.P.A. in Public Policy and Administration. Currently, he is pursuing a doctoral degree in Public Affairs and Community Development at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey.

SOAPing American History: Mark Anthony Neal’s The Myth of the “Good Cop”: Pop Culture Helped Turn Police Officers Into Rock Stars – And Black Folks Into Criminals.

18 Oct 2020

This week, I chose a piece from Abolition For The People: Mark Anthony Neal’s The Myth of the “Good Cop”: Pop Culture Helped Turn Police Officers Into Rock Stars – And Black Folks Into Criminals. You can access the piece HERE for your reading pleasure. I encourage all of you to read this text. This … More SOAPing American History: Mark Anthony Neal’s The Myth of the “Good Cop”: Pop Culture Helped Turn Police Officers Into Rock Stars – And Black Folks Into Criminals.

SOAPing American History: Matthew Desmond’s American Capitalism is Brutal; You Can Trace That To the Plantation

11 Oct 2020

This week, I chose a piece from the 1619 Project: Matthew Desmond’s American Capitalism Is Brutal. You Can Trace That to the Plantation. You can access the piece HERE for your reading pleasure. I encourage all of you to read this important text. This piece underscores just how deep our capitalist roots as a society … More SOAPing American History: Matthew Desmond’s American Capitalism is Brutal; You Can Trace That To the Plantation

SOAPing American History

11 Oct 2020

I’ve previously shared that I didn’t use textbooks as a teacher. I knew the history textbooks were whitewashed and void of the whole truth. Thankfully, there was a Black-owned bookstore around the corner from where I taught; LaUnique Bookstore at 111 North 6th Street in Camden was at my disposal. I found numerous gems in … More SOAPing American History

Quarantined Fathering

28 Mar 2020

I was talking to good friend of mine on the challenges of homeschooling. He is the father of a 2 and a 4-year-old, respectively, and he spoke about the challenges of working while teaching and playing with his kids all hours of the day due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Like many parents, he’s used to … More Quarantined Fathering

Teaching History Part 2: Purpose

5 Mar 2020

This post marks the second part in a series of post designed to explore history instruction to assist history teachers at teaching history in more culturally inclusive, balanced, and responsive ways. You can read part one here. As an adolescent, history was nothing more than dates, events, people and places I saw in books. It … More Teaching History Part 2: Purpose

Teaching History Part 1: Motivation

26 Feb 2020

This post marks the first part in a series of post designed to explore history instruction to assist history teachers at teaching history in more culturally inclusive, balanced, and responsive ways. Teaching history is a major responsibility. I don’t minimize the other content areas, but teaching history is so important. However, there are some who … More Teaching History Part 1: Motivation

Lunch Duty

19 Feb 2020

When you ask a teacher about lunch duty, they give one of two answers… either they think it’s cool or they hate it. Some teachers hate lunch duty for legit reasons. One reason is that their colleagues ditch it and their left with one or two less adults. Another reason is because there is little … More Lunch Duty

Lessons from a Lost Life

12 Feb 2020

I waited to pen this post because much of the world was writing on Kobe immediately after his death. But I do believe there are some lessons that educators can impart on their students from Kobe’s life. I arrived at Wawa shortly after 2 in the afternoon to get gas on Sunday January 26, … More Lessons from a Lost Life

Ingredients of a Great PD

6 Feb 2020

Not to toot my own horn (although I clearly aim), but I think that I do a great job when facilitating a professional development session; that’s what the attendees say on the evaluations. After each PD I facilitate, I always run down what worked and what didn’t work to improve for the next session I … More Ingredients of a Great PD

Stop Missing the HBCU Opportunity

21 Nov 2019

Without naming any names, I know there are folks in the workplace who disregard my suggestions. It’s okay… but understand that you’re not hurting me. It’s the students that you’re hurting. Here is an example… One of the awesome treasures at the disposal of the Delaware Valley and the Mid-Atlantic States is the Malcolm Bernard … More Stop Missing the HBCU Opportunity

The Disciplinarian Has Left the Building

23 Oct 2019

I never asked to be a disciplinarian when I taught. But I was often thrusted into the role. To be honest however, I was good at it; very good at it. I took on a fatherly persona as a teacher. So, when it came to managing student behavior, I had relatively few problems. My colleagues, … More The Disciplinarian Has Left the Building

So You Want To Be In Administration?

9 Oct 2019

Have you ever considered jumping into administrative waters? Can you see yourself leading a school? First, you must have a principal certification. Also, you must meet the required years of teaching. But that is only the beginning of the process. … More So You Want To Be In Administration?

Urban Education Mixtape

… A Strong Rhyme to Step To