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The Strange Career of the American Achievement Gap
The origins of an annual recognition of American black history, initially dubbed as “Negro History Week,” can be traced to as far back as 1926, despite blacks’ presence in American life since colonial times. It would not be until the twentieth century that black Americans would acquire a respectable and noticeable residence in American historical…
read more »I believe we can solve the problems of urban education in our lifetime. Now, anyone that knows me knows that I’m, by no stretch of the imagination, a cheerleader or mascot for Teach for America, and no this isn’t a post aimed at tampering with the glorious pedestals upon which TFA sacredly and preciously rests:…
read more »“What we need are teachers who don’t make excuses,” said Philadelphia Superintendent Arlene Ackerman. “I don’t want to hear about bureaucracy. We have always had bureaucracies…We are looking for people who say ‘I can teach a rock to read.’…If it is not the right place for you, then you should find another place to go.”…
read more »Since when did the word ‘slave’ become equivalent in meaning, historical connotation, and impact to the word ‘nigger’? There is no historical, specific implication behind the world ‘slave’ and to whom it refers to. A slave could have existed at any point throughout world history, been Egyptian, Polish, or Asian, or of any race or…
read more »As a precursory note, the hope of this post relies on my efforts to address what I have learned about myself in the context of race, class, and culture, and to examine the construction of my students’ understandings of race, class, and culture since teaching. Additionally, I seek to explore the meanings of these notions as an…
read more »“Does Alabama still have race riots?” “How are things down there…hopefully better?!” “I know you’re conditioned for this hot weather, so you should be used to this [103 degrees of smoldering heat]!” (“As though 103 degrees isn’t hot to me…hot isn’t hot…In fact, let me go get a jacket…this is actually a bit chilly?!”) My personal favorite: “I know you…
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