The last day of school before we closed our doors in March was the hardest day I’ve ever had as a teacher. Only 12 students of our 26 were present. The kids kept telling my co-teacher and me how much they were going to miss us, staff were running around the building trying to get copied packets of work ready…
Category: Equity
The Rush Towards Remote Learning Could Hurt My Students More Than It Might Help
I teach in a high poverty school in Denver and I’m terrified of the long-term impact of the COVID-19 crisis on my students and their families. Many online remote learning resources have offered their services for free as a solution to lost school time, which is generous, but feels frustratingly short-sighted. The same students who have a home that is…
Let’s Expand the Possibilities of Learning for All Children in Colorado
When asked to describe a typical school day, many students will paint a familiar picture consisting of a core of English, math, social studies, and science courses, along with physical education, a foreign language, and perhaps a creative arts elective. After the final bell rings, they likely attend clubs or extra-curricular experiences that align with their interests and passions. Though…
To say ‘we strike for our students’ is compelling but it’s also misleading
Moments after Gov. Polis declined to intervene in the impending Denver teacher strike, the Denver Classroom Teachers Association (DCTA) took to Twitter to make their own announcement. “February 11th we strike for our students.” #FakeNews. Don’t get me wrong, good teachers deserve to be paid like doctors, lawyers, hell, even pro athletes. Like doctors and lawyers, teachers are dealing with…
Fully funding Colorado’s schools is like the worst game of tag ever…and it has to end
Watching Colorado voters and legislators try to fully fund our schools is like watching a bunch of middle-aged adults play the game tag in the movie so brilliantly titled…Tag. It’s utterly ridiculous and exhausting. In any case, here’s how it’s gone down over the last year. In his final State of the State address back in January, Gov. Hickenlooper acknowledged…