History Unfolding Three years ago one of my school preps was sociology. Teaching students about social change was a great experience for me. That year I was also the co-sponsor for the student council. I guess my message about social change was heard and understood. Later that spring several students that I taught who were also members of the student council went and spoke to the school board about the student dress code, later that summer, the dress code was changed. As social studies teachers, we are all sociologists and observing history unfolding in the wake of a tragedy has probably been the most compelling event of my life. I truly believe that when the next series of Social Studies books are published, ie; U.S. history, economics, world history, sociology, Government,the name of Colin Kaepernick will be mentioned. In the US Government and AP Government and Sociology curriculum we have a block called “political Socialization” I...
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The Remainder of 2020 As I sit here this morning completing my gradebook for the final time I reminisce about the past year. The class of 2020 has had to go through many obstacles to get to this point. The remainder of 2020 will have a great impact on all students and families in the United States. This summer the United States Supreme Court will decide on DACA ( Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals). Also this summer the Democratic and Republican parties will have their conventions where they will select their nominees for president. In August and September, schools and colleges will start back in some blended fashion. Finally the presidential election will be held in November, where Americans will decide between incumbent president Donald Trump, or the democratic challenger Joseph Biden. Americans will still be living with COVID-19 in some fashion. When I was younger, I only saw things in black and white, right and wrong. but after all of my...
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Virtual classrooms? In the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic it's safe to say that the classrooms of the future will be blended, that is a mixture of residential and online lessons. whether through Schoology, Canvas, Edmodo, BrainPOP, Google classroom. there will be a strong mixture. My question is how will it affect the educator?. If there is a mixture of online and residential learning happening daily how will time management be affected? I made some observations over these recent nine weeks. Many of my counterparts do not have technology at home. Many of my colleagues and coworkers had to rely on district resources (Chromebooks) to get their work done. I cannot judge anyone for how they spend their time or money. But if you do not have technology at home how can you as an educator do your job effectively? And how were you doing it before the pandemic?
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The Elephant in the room? It wasn't until I entered my freshman year at Booker T Washington High School in Tulsa Oklahoma, that I discovered what inequity meant. Even though it was a magnet school many of my friends and classmates were recruited into the school for other reasons including myself (track and field). Many of my friends and classmates were members of the elite and legacies. I am unable to count how many times I was unable to go out with my friends because my primary mission after school and practice was to get home,assist in preparing dinner for my younger brothers and sisters and do my homework. Inequity as always existed when it comes to academics, that's why schools were created to accommodate African Americans such as Tuskegee, Howard, Prairie View, and Southern Universities(shoutouts to Dr. A. Smothers, Ms. V. Williams). Inequity has now reared its head in another form, technology and internet access. The coronavirus pan...
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Well after logging in this morning at 8 am I discovered that Brain-Pop was down. I had to come up with a more creative way for my students to access their lesson. I uploaded a presentation on the Federal Reserve and created a quiz. I also uploaded a link to CNN 10 , a daily show that my students watch daily. I am a little worried, I've only been able to reach about 94% of my students, it's going to be very difficult to reach that remaining 6% but I'm going to try. “Education is the key to unlock the golden door to freedom” George Washington Carver As I begin this blog journey you will see that quote from Dr. Carver many times. As a child who grew up in poverty I feel empathy and connect with many of my students. Minorities do not yet have generational wealth, our equalizer is education. Yes that .0001 percent will win the lottery, or become a NFL or NBA draft pick, but education is still the key to creating that generational wealth. ...