Category: Teacher Tuesdays
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Teacher tired, a redux
Perks of teaching self contained: you’re with the same students all day. Drawbacks of teaching self contained: you’re with the same students all day. Teacher Struggles In parentis locos. Issa thing, more than y’all know.
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When lockdowns happen at schools
Yesterday, we had an actual lockdown. Not a drill—lockdown. What does this mean? It means that my entire class of students sat on the floor waiting for someone to give the all clear. It means that because I ran out of my house a different way, I forgot my keys and my door was perpetually […]
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Rules Without Reasons Reap Rebellion
I am watching the conscious parenting trend and I find that just like all things, life is all about taking the good with the bad. The philosophy has merits that I absolutely rocks with and things that I find to be quite head scratching. One of the head scratchers is simply that I am supposed […]
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Restoration Threads — What NOT to do for opening activities (a lesson in equity/inclusion)
As teachers start the school year, I want to just share this reminder that popped up in my feed. Restoration Threads (a now closed nonprofit—visit their still open instagram) serviced foster kids. This post was very much an excellent eye opening moment for teachers to remember that not all kids are in a happy place, […]
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You Betta GET THINK!
I wrote this in 2014. Some lessons never get old. July 31, 2014 (Facebook post): A couple of months ago, the Holy Spirit impressed upon me to watch what I say–not just in person, but in social media, when I write emails or books or poems: whatever! You know what I found when I started […]
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Parents: Let kids be kids
Word of truth: the world is plenty adept at taking the childhood of young black and brown children away, making them grow up before their time. Don’t add to that. Let kids be kids. Remind them to do kid stuff. Force them to enjoy being children. Keep your adult problems to yourself. Half the issues […]
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Assessing what matters
confession: I am what you would call an educational hippie. I don’t care about content and grades; I care about students understanding how they learn, the act of self reflection, and growth monitoring. See for me? Grades are just a snapshot, a one moment in time, or whatever Whitney Houston was singing. Anybody can get […]
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Emotion as a Weapon
Emotion. This is my weapon of warfare as a teacher. Kids aren’t interested in facts and procedures. I connect it to something they feel strongly about, and they will talk about it until school is over. They will remember it the next year when it comes up because the emotion will activate their brains to […]
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The littles ain’t been here before—but you have.
This kid just screamed in Target. He looked tired when I turned to look. His mom (white lady) snatched him up–BECAUSE she saw me looking. She probably thought I was judging her parenting. I wasn’t. I just heard a kid in distress and looked just in case something was going down wrong. It always amazes […]
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Skill versus Will: How Lack of Discipline Mimics Disobedience
Being undisciplined is often interpreted as disobedience. One is a lack of action; the other is a lack of submission of your will. Bishop Dale C. Bronner My friend Eboney used to always ask me a riddle when I was in my bag about something. She’s say, “Who is more right? Or who is wrong? […]
Kisha Creates 