Incivility of White America: #WhiteAmnesia

Apparently there is an "uncivil war" breaking out in America. The declaration follows some high profile incidents such as Sarah Huckabee Sanders being asked to leave the Red Hen, Homeland Security Secretary Kirsjten Nielsen being jeered, booed at and, eventually, forced to leave a D.C. Mexican restaurant, and Stephen Miller, the Trump advisor largely seen as the architect of the separating families policy, being confronted at a separate Mexican restaurant. This was followed by a report from Politico that Trump staffers are having a hard time finding dates and otherwise socializing in D. C.. On Saturday Maxine Waters encouraged "push back" against Trump and his staffers. On the other hand Nancy Pelosi and the Democratic establishment are urging for “unity from sea to shining sea.” …

Truth TellingIan McLAughlinJune 26, 2018#WhiteAmnesia, White Amnesia, Trump, Sanders, PelosiComment

Does Increasing Spending Per Pupil Correlate to Better Educational Results? Three Graphs Help Answer This Question

The 2017-2018 school year saw a wave of school walkouts and protests across the country. In the vast majority of these protests and walkouts educators and education advocates were asking for increased state or local funding for education. As teachers for many years, we completely understand the cries for increased educational funding. We have always felt undercompensated for our work, and we have always felt our students have never gotten the full educational resources they need. However, with stories of Finland outperforming the world with less per pupil funding than the U.S. we got to thinking: Does increased educational funding really lead to better student outcomes, and if so, for whom? Asking this question lead us to pull the data and see where it leads…

Graphs, Truth TellingIan McLAughlinJune 6, 2018Standardized Testing, Graphing, FundingComment

Asking all the Questions: How White Teachers Should Evaluate Their Year

The end of the school year naturally leads to reflection and evaluation. Teachers and students alike are asking themselves, How did the year go? The answer to that question depends on what questions are asked prior. For example, were the students safe in my school and classroom? Do students understand the world better? Did students deepen their knowledge of self? Did students become better readers, problem solvers, and thinkers?

All of these questions matter. ALL of the questions matter.

Teacher Guides, Truth TellingIan McLAughlinMay 31, 2018Lisa Delpit, White Teacher, End of Year, EvaluationComment

Three Actions For Teachers In the Wake of Santa Fe & Parkland School Shootings

It’s happened again. Nobody truly believed it wouldn’t, but that doesn’t blunt the soul-crushing reality. Ten people have lost their lives. Ten families are shattered. The sanctity of another school violated. An entire community reeling….

Racial Equity, Betsy DeVos and For-Profit Colleges

The New York Times recently released an article detailing how Betsy DeVos dismantled a Department of Education team that investigated fraud and abuse by for-profit colleges…. As a high school educator, dismantling this department leads me to several questions: who does this affect the most? How does this relate to K-12 public education?

Truth TellingIan McLAughlinMay 15, 2018betsy devos, higher education, for-profit colleges, history, Racial EdquityComment

3 Ways to Finish the School Year Strong

It’s May, flowers are budding, the sun pours in classroom windows and teachers everywhere join students in counting down the days until school’s out for the summer…

Teacher GuidesIan McLAughlinMay 8, 2018End of yearComment

3 Ways People Profit from the School to Prison Pipeline

At its core the School to Prison Pipeline, or more aptly the School and Prison Nexus, is about domination and control of wealth - much as previous iterations of white supremacy like Jim Crow or Slavery (read Michelle Alexander). One can easily see how the School and Prison Nexus facilitates domination, through literal and legal cages, but how it controls wealth is more difficult to follow… To do so, one must understand the prison industrial complex. Below are 3 ways the school and prison industrial complex leads to wealth for a select few…

5 Terms to Help Sharpen Your Social Justice Lens

Our perception is always impacted by the lens through which we see, and our lens is always impacted by both physical barriers and socialization. For example, when looking through the barrier provided by sunglasses - the world may appear darker; and when looking through the socialization of the dominant narrative - the world may appear merit based and not oppressive. The first step to social justice is to hone one’s social justice lens (see our unit on Lenses if interested in teaching students how to develop their social justice lens). Below are five terms that I have to re-imagine to challenge the dominant narrative.

What Is The Purpose of Public Education in America? (Pt. 1)

Thomas Jefferson, widely considered the most adamant supporter of public education among our country’s founders, proposed a two-track school system which would separate workers from the “learned” class. Jefferson describes...

VACTION!

Dr. Eddie Moore Jr, founder of the White Privilege Conference (WPC), began this year by coining the phrase “VACTION: Venting Plus Action,” in relation to racial equity and social justice work - a sentiment anyone working to deconstruct white privilege can relate to in our current (and past) political climates. And, there is a lot to vent about: The fact that ‘Standing Rock’ marked the U.S. Government breaking 100% of treaties ever signed with Native Americans; or the fact that the Chicago PD actively articulates, understands, and utilizes the formula for how to create a killer (provide no place to live, work or go to school then hire “us” [the police] to contain the situation). But, Dr. Moore is right - we need to do more than be angry…