EverbodyLuvsRaymondsEdBlog

Firstly, because this is an education blog, we have to keep its education to some degree. I saw an interaction between a teacher and a student in one of my education groups. It was disheartening because the response was pretty adult-centered. I'm not taking away the need for teachers to unplug. Teaching is a challenging job. Sometimes the difficulties of the job carry over into our daily lives.  But when our interactions with kids align with this interaction, it makes me question why we do this work. Is police reform going to happen? That's the million-dollar question that many of us are pondering. While lawmakers decide to undertake police reform legislation, many of us continue to fear for our lives. I'm a law-abiding citizen for the most part. Occasionally I might do 1 mile over the speed limit, but for the most part, I try and live my life according to the laws that govern citizens. 

Today, I come to you as my vulnerable self. I have a ton of emotions right now, and I'm sitting on pins and needles. Over the past month we have seen countless mass shootings across the United States. I'm all for the 2nd amendment, but there has to be a way for us to compromise and make common sense policy that allows us to control who is allowed to bear arms. Implementing mandatory background checks is something that is universally supported by both Democrats and Republicans.  It should not be this hard in order to come up with bi-partisan legislation that goes beyond a president signing an executive order.

Last week we lost a Hip-Hop giant in the passing of Earl Simmons, aka DMX. DMX was a once and a generation talent. His cadence, his bars, the way he rode beats resonated with lyricists, D-Boys, and Hip-Hop culture fanatics and the likes. When DMX rapped, you heard and felt every word. It was as if you were there with him in the studio recording the track. The power in his songs made a feeling come over you.  His prayers on his albums showed his connectedness with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. For all of the Demons, he had to overcome; I truly believe that his relationship with God was  authentic. The outpour of love for DMX is commendable. However, just like many other celebrities that transition to the afterlife, we do little to pay homage to this artist when they are in life form. We have to do a better job of celebrating our heroes while they are here. On Earth, society villanized DMX. His demons magnified. As a Black man, we see all too often when addictions becom...

When I think about great schools for Black/Brown kids, I get excited. I start to smile because I know the potential of these students. They work hard, but because of folks lowering the bar of expectations, we will never know our babies' true potential. Why Black/Brown students? That's a great question, and in this blog post, I will try to provide descriptors as to why I advocate so much for the poor and disenfranchised.  Mahatma Gandhi once said, "A nation's greatness is measured by how it treats its weakest members." You see, this statement manifests itself in the American school system. Often the poor and disenfranchised have limited access.  Some would go so far as saying limiting access is intentional and deliberately restricts poor people from resources such as a sound education system. We see many people escape poor education by exercising choice. I want to focus on one form of choice that doesn't receive adequate attention is zip code choice. Zipcode ch...

In education we make many assumptions about what good teaching looks like. One of the only real ways to measure how effective teachers are is by looking at student outcomes. Outcomes look differently for each individual student. No one student is the same, and all students learn differently.  Beyond stating the obvious, there are several ways that educators can hold themselves accountable for teacher outcomes. Firstly, acknowledge the fact that you are responsible for the learning that takes place in your  classroom. Many educators want to blame the extraneous factors that exist in a child's life. What happens in a child's Homelife should not impact your willingness to teach and push a child. I've also seen instances in which educators use poverty as an excuse for students not learning. Yes, poor kids can learn. As a matter of fact, the l argest literacy boom for Black people came right after the Civil War and the ending of Chattel slavery. Secondly, tuck your learned  b...