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Leadership and Activism

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#openschools: the Swartz dilemma

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You run a tech-infused classroom. Kids do all sorts of work on the computer from reading fluency practice to released test items to word processing to new- and multi-media projects in response to class texts. You’ve scrounged up a bunch of unsupported computers from past replacement cycles in your building, and your tech person has … Continue reading »

The Evaluation: schooling at the end of teaching, unions, & care

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Nearly sixth months ago, I posted “The Evaluation,” a near-future science fiction short story imagining public school teaching as day-labor inside a techno-bureaucratic panopticon. Since then, I’ve tried to hold myself accountable for posting about the work that my kids and I do together, which I love and in which I believe. I want to … Continue reading »

Keeping My Students Safe Isn’t Easy

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I want to keep my students safe, I really do, but it really is impossible. When it comes to student and staff safety, there are so many things wrong with the way my school is built and run that I don’t know where to begin. Our principal reminded the staff again this week that only the front … Continue reading »

The Care of Your Soul Became Mine

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I would like to remove some rocks from your field so that you can plant more wheat. And those hills I see that are part of you, I have some trees in mind for them and flowering grasses, so that you won’t erode when the elements pour. Are we not lovers? Cannot I speak to … Continue reading »

The Monday After Newtown

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I really hate coming to school the first day after a school incident somewhere else.  No one ever knows whether it will be a biggie to our kids or not, so we have to prepare and really think through how to support our kiddos.  I don’t mind that,  in fact, I want to be prepared … Continue reading »

Our Responsibility

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            In the wake of the horrible tragedy at the Sandy Hook Elementary school in Newton, Connecticut, it may be time to reflect on our responsibilities as a society. No matter our role, we all have an individual and collective responsibility in how we respond to tragedies of this magnitude. Certainly our hearts, thoughts, prayers … Continue reading »

Why Not Teach For America

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Well, it’s about that time of year — when seniors start frantically applying for fellowships and internships and jobs, the socially conscious among them aching for a career that will allow them to change the world, others looking for something they can put on their application for law school. Then comes along the recruiting powerhouse … Continue reading »

Learning the Vernacular: Slang in the Classroom

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My sixth grade teacher was the only Black male educator in our entire school system when I had him as an eleven year old. In my racially and economically diverse elementary school, virtually all the Black children in each grade were put into his class every year–a fact which as a young student upset me. … Continue reading »

My schools GSA letter to East Aurora School District 131

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Ohio Virtual Academy/ Gay-Straight Alliance From: Ohio Virtual Academy High School Gay Straight Alliance 1655 Holland Road Suite F Maumee, Ohio 43537   October 22, 2012   To: East Aurora School District 131 417 Fifth Street Aurora, Illinois 60505 ATTN:  Mary Anne Turza Stella Gonzalez Annette Johnson Richard Leonard Raymund Hall Anita Lewis Ignacio Cervantes … Continue reading »

The Third Way

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“The Third Way” is a phrase sometimes used to describe a new, third alternative after two somewhat opposite alternatives are explored and found wanting or inadequate. For example, the historical Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama, founded a way of life, an eightfold path, that was a “third way” after he rejected the excesses of indulgence on the … Continue reading »

Collaborate, but collaborate better than thy neighbor(?).

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Originally posted at educatedtodeath.com We’ve had several meetings this year that have all had a similar message: “create a competitive environment in your classroom to motive your students”. We are told that they respond well to competition. They should always strive to do better than their neighbor. We are also expected to tell them that … Continue reading »

Sneaky Evaluators: Who Sent You, and Why are You Disrupting My Class?

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Originally posted at educatedtodeath.com There is a constant stream of evaluators and academic “coaches” streaming through the classrooms at my school. They come in driving unreasonably nice cars, and always look like they just came from a designer boutique and then a full service salon. They look like blooming movie star hopefuls or just well … Continue reading »

Language Ghettos

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Originally posted on Arizona Stories from School blog. These are my thoughts on the rigid four-hour block that pushes out science and social studies in the name of language acquisition. “Mr. Spencer, what is a common assessment?” a student asks. “It’s a test that every student on the grade level has to take,” I explain. … Continue reading »

“Bullying Is Student Voice” (Guest Post by Adam Fletcher)

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In a lot of educators’ minds, “student voice” only happens when adults direct learners to share their thoughts in ways that are acceptable in schools. Whether embedded in the curriculum, listened to through adult-led student forums, or guided in carefully moderated websites, student voice is often painted as the cuddly, friendly, and convenient precursor to … Continue reading »

A Students Response to Mitt Romney’s: A Chance for Every Child

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First off, education is not a privilege. Education is something that is to be thought of as a right, a requirement, and a necessity. Education is something that we owe to children and adults for success both today and tomorrow. When you deny the right to access education, you are denying the right to live … Continue reading »

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