The Blog
The main secret is that it doesn’t differ much from in-person teaching. You still need to do the personal anti bias and anti racist work required and these brave spaces will still require relationship-building. This entails going through your own peeling back of layers in terms of bias and...
This post is not about bragging. We have had too many failures, but in the spirit of helpfulness and our own reflection, we wanted to share what has, in fact, been working for us.
We’ve learned our kids have more energy than an energy drink. We’ve also learned they need breaks from...
I remember in 7th grade when one of my teachers, Mrs. B, did a terrible thing. My classmate was reading aloud. Slowly. Struggling through the lines. Working his way. Making gains. And doing it in front of all of us. You know what Mrs. B did? She blurted out, as he walked through the letters and...
There exists a movement among Black, Indigenous, and People of Color all around the world (basically wherever there was colonization) to Whiten our skin. The lure of the proximity to Whiteness as a privilege and as a means for survival is both real and not new. For those of us that can’t...
This blog post is straight from our classrooms!
From Roberto:
A couple of weeks ago, I used writing to promote some social-emotional learning with students while fostering community in the class. I used a picture from the New York Times publication titled “40 Intriguing Photos to Make...
Indigenous People’s Day is an important holiday and it also brings up many feelings… like anger, frustration, pain, and exhaustion. There are still so many that argue that Columbus was an “explorer” and that we must focus on “the good” of his...
Young people are leaders of the future. They will be running this country, our institutions, and our lives, and yet, here they are fighting for their lives and ours. I’m speaking about both the earth/climate change issues, but also gun control, racism, and other matters. Young people have...
One of the challenges of living in Austin, Texas is navigating the insistent gentrification taking place. It rips communities and takes your friends away. It forces potential friends to leave, too.
Roberto and I have worked hard to intentionally find and develop friendships with...
I recently read Kiese Laymon’s book Heavy. I can’t stop talking about it. It was powerful, raw, beautiful, impactful, and heavy. (Pun intended!) One of the moments he narrates is about an incident that happened to him as a college professor. He was the only Black male professor...
