It’s that time of year when people start posting their favorite Martin Luther King, Jr quotes. They’re always the same, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.“ or “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” Yes, these are excellent quotes. But […]
A while back I was thinking about whether I should write a post about Christmas. I didn’t know what I would say, or if it was relevant. So, I started thinking about the impact of celebrating Christmas in public schools. Then, I saw an Instagram post from @teachandtransform about de-centering Christmas. De-centering Christmas? What’s that? […]
“I already won the lottery. I was born in the U-S of A baby.” – Creed Bratton This quote from The Office is one of my favorites and I post it every year on the 4th of July. It’s funny and I love this country. Now, just because I believe America is the best, doesn’t […]
Juneteenth became a huge topic of conversation in 2020. Now, it’s a recognized holiday. You might know all about Juneteenth by now, but I don’t like to make assumptions, Here’s some helpful information about Juneteenth to help you understand why June 19th is a holiday. First, let’s define what Juneteenth is. I’m not going to […]
Dream with me for a minute. Imagine we didn’t relegate teaching “non-white” history to designated “History Months?” I remember when I was a student teaching. My cooperating teacher was like, “it’s February, teach Black History. Next month teach Women’s History.” So that’s what I did. Black History Month is essential. It brings attention to and […]
The Haitian Revolution in 1804 is the most important revolution in human history. Yet, most people don’t know anything about it. (The defeated United States and European powers made sure of that). Ok, you might be thinking, “That’s a bold statement, Noelle.” It is and I stand by it. The Haitian Revolution is so important […]
Warning, this isn’t like my usual upbeat and positive posts. I’m gettin’ real. A note: when I’m mentioning white people, I am talking about the racist white people of the time I am discussing. Now that that’s out of the way… Back in late Spring of 2020, (you know, when people said they cared about […]
I’m proud that my school district changed Columbus Day to Indigenous People’s Day. It’s important to recognize indigenous people. I’m sure there were a ton of people who had an atomic wedgie over it, but… It was the right move. That got me thinking. What did I learn about indigenous people in my K-12 education? […]
Think back to what you learned about the Civil Rights Movement. My bet is that you learned that it started in the 1950s when Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on the bus. I mean, why wouldn’t she? She was a tired old lady who was trying to get home from work. Then […]
Imperialism in Africa is one of my favorite things to teach. Not only is it interesting, but it’s the perfect time to tackle misconceptions about Africa. You know, like the one where people call Africa a country. News flash. Africa is the most diverse place on the planet. It has 54 distinct countries and thousands […]
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