A Seat At The Table

Photo by rawpixel.com on Unsplash I found myself actually asking for “a seat at the table” this week (in a conversation about a potential job). I guess this post by Simon Ensor resonated so much in my mind that it came out in my speaking. Simon asks us to consider what it means to have a seat... Continue Reading →

March 5, 2018 1

Boredom Is A Symptom

Some people believe that school--by its very design--is boring. Alan Caruba, calls schools “the original boring institute” and says that they are “the place where we train young people to be bored and to bore others.” We find many images of this theme played out over and over in popular media. And there are many... Continue Reading →

February 13, 2018 1

Why Jonathan Hates School

I was in a fourth-grade class last week, providing support as part of a substitute assignment as an English Language Development teacher. The classroom teacher asked me to float around and provide support wherever it was needed. The students were all involved in independent work at their desks and most seemed to... Continue Reading →

February 11, 2018 3

Five Words to Shape Our Learning Reality

Photo by Mark Basarab on Unsplash “Words shape our reality and in teaching define our practice. We cannot hope to create something that opens new possibilities or transforms our pedagogy unless we abandon this language for something new.” -Mark Sonneman Mark Sonnemann challenged us to come up with one word that could replace accountability in shaping our reality... Continue Reading →

January 16, 2018 0

Those Times When I Was Racist

Photo by Feliphe Schiarolli on Unsplash Patrice’s father told me I was racist. I didn’t believe him then. He did not know me. He did not know my history. Or see into my heart. How could giving his daughter a failing grade be racist? She was the one who didn’t do the work. The principal of... Continue Reading →

December 27, 2017 2