As a youth in Ford Heights, Illinois, Ramon Griffin grew up asking hard questions. Why did his ZIP code have so many schools on the academic watch list? Wh
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Not to Be a Buzzkill, But Teachers Need a Reminder to Be Nice to Their Students
I couldn’t sleep the other night and found myself doing what any reasonable person would do: I turned to Twitter. There was the usual: President Trump had
Read MoreBefore Deciding the Fate of Houston’s Schools, You Need to Listen to Parents
Last week, 2019 state ratings showed three out of four Houston Independent School District (HISD) schools made gains on test scores and got off “Improvemen
Read MoreFirst Day Jitters? Teachers Get Them Too!
As I embark on my 15th year in public education, I’m baffled that it still happens to me. After all, this is my 15th “first day”! I have my first-day hand
Read MoreWhy We Need LGBTQ+ Curricula
In 2018, GLSEN’s national school climate study indicated that 59.5% of LGBTQ students “felt unsafe at school because of their sexual orientation and 44.6%
Read MoreWhite Teacher, Here’s How You Can Successfully Partner With Black Families
The show was going really well. We were in Pittsburgh, taping a live 8 Black Hands podcast episode at the State of Black Learning Conference, and we were j
Read MoreTo Support Your LGBTQ+ Students, Love Them and Give Them Someone to Look Up To
Every student deserves a role model with whom they can relate. For many students, literature and curriculum are resources they can use to find role models
Read MoreThink Economics Is Boring? It’s Actually the Key to Good Citizenship
When teachers, parents and students think about civics in the classroom, first and foremost they imagine social studies, Constitution Day and the Pledge of
Read MoreBack to School, Back to Basics With Parent-Teacher Partnerships
The smell of education is in the air. Parents have bought uniforms and school supplies are packed up and ready to go. Teachers have completed their beginni
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