Recently a friend of mine, someone I've known most of my 42 years on this Earth, called late one night and told me his father had unexpectedly died. I hadn't seen his father in years, and the last few times were merely in passing, but the news floored me. Honestly, it hit harder than it … Continue reading A Memory of a Father
Yesterday, on the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr's assassination we received the news that a student at my high school drove his truck to the school flying the Confederate flag. The flag was nothing new, a common occurrence around here. The noose in the bed of his truck was not. Today, I learned … Continue reading Discovering I Teach a “Racist”
"The fault... is not in our stars, but in ourselves." Cassius, Julius Caesar. The Native Hue of Resolution Happy New Year! I hope you didn't think that was the end of it. (If you followed me here from my last post, then you know what I'm talking about. And if you know me, you'd know … Continue reading This New Year, Creating More Teachable Moments (Part 2)
To Be or Not To Be A few weeks ago my students were reading the "To be or not to be..." speech in Hamlet. Virtually everyone knows a part of it, whether they are aware of it or not. It's one of those things that is so ingrained in our culture that we aren't even … Continue reading After This Year, How Many Teachable Moments Do I Have Left (Part 1)
Originally this post was going to be all about teaching, and about a student who stood for all students, and how we, as teachers, can affect a life. But then life happened, as it does, and I put it off. Now, the election happened, and I must do something about how I feel or I … Continue reading A Wonderful and Terrifying Reality of Being a Teacher, and Why I Can’t Quit Now.
A conversation is being held across dinner tables and in living rooms all over Maryland this fall, one that is being echoed all over our nation virtually every night. Hundreds of thousands of teachers are pondering what will they do if they can no longer teach? They are talking to spouses, lovers, and friends about the … Continue reading So What Do We Do Now?
