My Blog

It’s a tough time to be a teacher. They’re burned out, they’re demoralized, they’re facing hostility from parents, they’re not paid very well, and they’re either dreading or dreaming of a return to remote learning—a decision that most of them don’t have the power to control. Meanwhile, it’s a tough time to be a college […]

It is impossible not to give a piece of your heart to each student who comes into your classroom. If you are an educator, you know this truth. When tragedy strikes, you feel it in your chest. I was given nothing, except for the news that my student was gone and a reminder to talk […]

As schools become more focused on continuous improvement and the development of growth mindsets, educators continue to evaluate how they can assess their students’ learning to better inform instructional practices. This is foundational to both teachers and their administrators. How can we personalize things that have historically been standardized to see if they meet every […]

What does it take for a university to be excellent—but not exclusionary? That’s one of the key questions raised by the book “Broke: The Racial Consequences of Underfunding Public Universities.” It takes a close look at the challenges and goals of two colleges in California that primarily serve America’s “new majority”—that is, students who may […]

Tell me about your dog. What type is it? What color is it? How much does it weigh? If you’ve got a cat, same questions apply. What’s the dog-to-cat ratio in your classroom (or office or home)? If you’re able to answer these, that’s how you teach data science to third graders—taking what seem like […]

A politician in the Midwest recently told a state committee that schools shouldn’t be allowed to teach kids about feelings or emotions. A group of Virginia parents demanded to review their school’s online social-emotional learning curriculum, convinced the school was hiding something. In the south, a state department told employees to refrain from even using […]

It was fall 2020, and here I was, sitting at my computer in tears. I had just received a notice from my school about the push for teachers and leaders to return to school for in-person learning. The email highlighted a “hybrid plan” that involved teachers rotating in and out of the building on specific […]

With science and technology jobs expected to grow twice as fast as other occupations over the next decade amid rapidly shifting demographics, creating a robust and diverse pipeline into STEM fields is essential to ensuring U.S. competitiveness and working toward racial equity. But neither will happen unless we address the fundamental gatekeeper to all STEM […]

Nearly 16,000 child care programs across 37 U.S. states have permanently closed since the pandemic began, representing a 9 percent decline in the total number of licensed child care providers, according to a new report published this month by Child Care Aware of America. Though perhaps less severe than some of the worst-case scenarios laid […]

As a teacher, I felt fortunate. The first job I took in Chicago Public Schools in 2007 was at a school where the administration truly valued student and staff input. I remember sitting with students as we interviewed potential new teachers and the students saying things like, “This teacher doesn’t seem like they will be […]