Whew, its been a while since I’ve spoken here… let me dust off the cobwebs and see if I remember how to do this… This year, I was “elected” to be the department chair of the humanities; English, Social Studies, the Arts and Foreign Language departments. It sounds prestigious on paper. But it’s just more … More How to Approach Walkthroughs
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
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
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?
Are you curious about how to address students who are failing classes? I have a few suggestions. There is a catch: you must (1) have an open mind, (2) err on the side of common sense, and (3) have the capacity for human decency. If you can check all of those boxes, you’re ready. If … More How To Address Failing Grades
One of the more toxic places in school happens to be the teachers’ lounge. The teachers’ lounge is supposedly a safe haven for teachers to go to without fear of being pestered by students or administrators. But that safe haven often becomes a den of venting teachers. Venting can be therapeutic, however, a therapy session … More Surviving the Teacher’s Lounge
Teachers and administrators alike desire to increase the number of engaged parents it has within its school. When I taught, teachers frequently lamented that not enough parents would show up for parent-teacher conferences; administrators did also. I also heard educators lament that parents weren’t regularly involved in the school community; that the only time parents … More Straight Talk About Parent Engagement
Many educators, particularly school leaders love to use data to inform teacher instruction. The data movement is a popular one; particularly in the age of school reform. Decisions about curriculum, instruction, and assessment tend to be shaped and determined by data. Well, what is the data? Generally, the data consist of student test scores from … More Doing Data Mindfully
Disclaimer: This post is for the administrators, however, teachers can gain something from it. Use this knowledge well. Thanksgiving is about three things. First, it is about teaching children the truth; that White settlers gave thanks for the slaughtering of the indigenous. Second, it is a time to actually be thankful for those things that … More Beware of the Unseasoned
Schools should teach students how to be responsible and accountable. However, some of the lessons that practitioners come up with aren’t very good. I remember during my last year teaching how the administration changed up the detention model. Originally, if a student received a detention, they had to sit for at least one hour. Depending … More Doing Responsibility Responsibly
In light of the recent events in Charlottesville, educators are approaching the new school year with a greater sense of urgency about needing to teach about race and the nation’s history of white supremacy. They’re also talking about the challenge this poses when 80 percent of teachers in K-12 public schools are white and the majority of students in those … More Are White Teachers Ready?
I am the director of an after-school and summer program for my school district. We house our program in classrooms in a specified area of the building. During the school day, teachers occupy those rooms. Teachers can be a fickle and possessive group of people. If you give a teacher something, don’t expect it back. … More You Don’t Own Your Classroom
The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone
Where Race and Sport Intersect at the Point of Commentary
A blog on race, equity, and urban education
... A Strong Rhyme to Step To
"To sting people and whip them into a fury, all in the service of truth."
Navigating Inner City Ministry in Real Time
Urban Education Mixtape 