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 […]
It felt like someone punched me in the gut. Anger grew inside of me, and the blood in my arms tingled with rage. Thank God that the student wasn’t near me when I read the comment. I would have lost my damn mind. But being the level-headed (ha!) adult that I am, I waited a […]
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 […]
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 […]
Recently a gentlemen came into the package store I work at part-time. (Package store is what we call the liquor store in CT). He had a lovely accent and I told him so. When I asked him where he’s from, he said Haiti. I got excited. I told him that I taught about the Haitian […]
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? […]
Do you hear that? Yup, those are crickets. I remember not so long ago, it seemed like everyone was posting about antiracism on Instagram. The cynic in me was like, “Yeah, let’s see how long this lasts.” I hate to say it, but the cynic in me was right. Everyone who became woke six months […]
Do you believe in magic? Well, the Electoral College sure does. It’s a magic number, and it’s 270. That’s the number you’ll see sprawled across the top of all the news channels on election day. It’s the number of electoral votes a candidate needs to win the presidential election. So I figured I’ll explain the […]
I read through the spreadsheet that my department head sent, and my heart sank. World History and Sociology. I really wanted U.S. History and civics. Especially during an election year. I mean, how am I going to teach the election in sociology? I taught AP government & Politics during the 2016 election, and it was […]
I’m proud that my school district changed Columbus Day to Indigenous People’s Day. It’s super 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 […]
Imagine this. You’re standing in front of your class. You’re about to teach start your lesson about segregation by law. You know, de jure segregation. You’re looking out at your students. Ok, let’s be real. You’re most likely sitting in front of your computer looking at your students on Zoom. Or in my case, Google […]
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