Feb 9, 2019South Carolina teachers are already walking out over tough conditionsThis commentary originally appears in the Post and Courier. Last week, a group of nearly 40 educators, led by the nonpartisan grassroots organization SC for Ed, traveled to the state Capitol to raise their voices and to communicate an urgent message: Teachers in South Carolina are at a breaking point…Education3 min readEducation3 min read
Published in From a Teacher·Jun 6, 2017Teaching as a CareerI am a full time sixth grade teacher. I am also a full time PhD student in an education field. I think a lot about how these two do not play as nicely as one might think. I am lucky to be at supportive institutions (my school and university) that…Education4 min readEducation4 min read
Published in From a Teacher·May 31, 2017Using Dialogue Poems in History ClassIt has been quite some time since I published a “this lesson/project worked great” post. Although these types of entries used to be a central focus of my blogging (and do serve a useful purpose), I moved away from such because I found it more useful to reflect on complex…Education4 min readEducation4 min read
Published in From a Teacher·May 7, 2017How (some) State Policies Criminalize Immigrant and Undocumented Youth…and What that Means for EducationIn the context of Donald Trump’s negative rhetoric on immigration it is easy to lose sight of the local and state policies that impact the lives of immigrant and undocumented youth. With national immigration reform highly unlikely these local policies and contexts prove to be extremely influential to immigrant lives…Immigration2 min readImmigration2 min read
Published in From a Teacher·Feb 26, 2017This Class SucksShe put her head down, let out a sigh, and uttered, “This class sucks.” I looked at her and knew she meant it. I was not upset at the student. She had every right to her thoughts and emotions. She was not callous or mean. She was not disrespectful. …Education2 min readEducation2 min read
Published in From a Teacher·Jan 14, 2017We Certainly Do Not Believe…Although this post may feel removed from things I usually write about, it shows how my thinking is shifting, growing, and evolving. In an effort to seek alternative (and non-dominant, non-colonial) epistemologies I have been reading work about Aztec philosophy. As teachers, we think very little about the epistemologies we…Teaching2 min readTeaching2 min read
Published in From a Teacher·Dec 24, 2016What Does Teaching “Look” Like?Last semester I took an advanced seminar in Instruction and Teacher Education. Below is a (slightly modified and shortened) reflection from the first week of class. We read large portions of Lortie’s SchoolTeacher. …Education3 min readEducation3 min read
Published in From a Teacher·Dec 13, 2016When Schooling Subtracts…“School subtracts resources from youth in two major ways. First, it dismisses their definition of education which is not only thoroughly grounded in Mexican culture, but also approximates the optimal definition of education advanced by Noddings (1984) and other caring theorists. Second, subtractive schooling schooling encourages subtractively assimilationist policies and…Education5 min readEducation5 min read
Published in From a Teacher·Aug 26, 2016Moving Beyond Surface Level Digital PedagogyI am doing my best to post something each Friday. This week check out a longer read I worked on for the Hybrid Pedagogy community. In the piece, I created a fictional composite narrative based on personal experience through my Master’s program, teacher credentialing, social media use, doctoral work, and…Education1 min readEducation1 min read
Published in From a Teacher·Aug 20, 2016Failing is a PrivilegeWhen my grandfather was twelve he worked alongside his family gathering prunes under the baking Northern California sun. A boss told him to take a truck into town and bring back supplies. My grandfather obeyed. It was not out of the ordinary for him to do this. He lived in…Education4 min readEducation4 min read
