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Numb in School classroom education reflection social emotional learning texturedteaching Sep 11, 2023

"He sits there and keeps his down and just does his work. He's such a good student." 

"Mary was diagnosed with cancer and we didn't even know! She's such a trooper." 

"Juan barely talks and responds only when called upon." 

"They're such a difficult student. They fidget all day and...

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Harmful Books vs. Harm-Exposing Books abar books education ela joy literacy reading May 17, 2023

I guess that the nuance in knowing the difference between a book that exposes harm and one that is harmful isn't as clear for everyone as it may be for me. Let me change that. 

There are books that cause harm. Harm, in this case, refers to offense or insult. These are books that lead the...

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Florida is Burning #disrupttexts books curriculum education ela inclusive literacy reading Feb 03, 2023

I know you've been watching the news and you've probably been watching our videos on social media. We can't stop talking about what DeSantis is doing, and here's why: 

1. These book banning are racist and oppressive in every way. He hides behind certain vague phrases to appease his political...

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Students of Color Are Now the Majority bipoc curriculum diversity education Aug 24, 2022

The National Center for Education Statistics has shared the news from their 2020 and 2021 research. One of the striking statistics that I think we need to meditate on is that out of 49 million public school students, 27.2 million of them are students of color. White students comprise 22.4...

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Studying Lula in To Kill a Mockingbird #antiracistedu #carbte #disrupttexts abar books classroom curriculum education ela literacy Jul 15, 2022

I know people really love this book and they struggle to let it go. One of the biggest hesitations expressed is that it's a great fodder for conversations about race(ism). However, my response to that is: it's written by a White woman and it is therefore limited in its scope. There will be...

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Playing My Way Through 6th Grade classroom education joy middle school Jun 30, 2022

When I started teaching, I worked at a high school. The youngest child I taught was 14. When I transitioned to a smaller independent school and started teaching 6th grade, I realized 11 year olds were still very, very, young! I remember the day one of them lost a tooth in class and I thought to...

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4 Tips for School Leaders Starting DEI Work #antiracistedu abar anti-racist schools diversity education educational equity equity May 31, 2022

Are you a school leader who wants to start or continue (in the early stages of) inclusivity work at your school? Are you unsure of how to start by building a strong foundation? 

Not doing this work at your school sets you up for failure. What will you say if/when one of your teachers lands...

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Five Tips for Creating Anti Racist Brave Spaces Via Distance Learning #antiracistedu antiracist antiracistedu csp distance learning education resources Sep 07, 2020

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...

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We’re In This Together bipoc classroom education reflection teachers Oct 19, 2018

Being a teacher who is black, indigenous, or a person of color (BIPoc), can be challenging in and of itself. So many resources that come across don’t always speak to our experiences in the classroom as a teacher. There are commonalities and trends to what we experience as teachers, and...

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