(This is my yearbook photo from 9th grade)
Berkeley Unified was one of the first districts in the country to integrate “by choice”. That sounds terrific — they didn’t need a court to order them to do, but as I’ve mentioned in my post: Reality Check https://mixedgirlsurvivalschool.com/reality-check/… Read the rest
This post is a link-fest that provides critical research on why children act-out, are checked-out, or even drop-out of school. Keep in mind, that information about ACEs is not limited to children’s behavior and physiology, but also why parents, teachers, and other educators can be more prone to stress related illness, depression, alcoholism — and yes — even violence, sexual abuse, emotional cruelty, etc.… Read the rest
(None of My Brothers or Sister Went College…and that is Truly a Shame)
The only stress that rivals back-to-school time, is apply-to-college time. For some families college applications are the culmination of a decade (or more) of preparation, for others, it’s a last-minute gut-slam.… Read the rest
(The teacher I needed would have looked like this)
I have to give kudos to WestEd’s Center for Child and Family Studies as a forerunner in embracing — against the social trend — the concept of “Cultural Continuity”.Their research supported the fact that Hispanic Caregivers provided better care for Hispanic infants/toddlers, African American Caregivers provided better care for African American infants/toddlers, and so forth.… Read the rest
(My Father is on the far left of the back row)
In some families everyone is a cop, or a doctor, or in the military. Well, teacher-families are a thing too. My children’s grandmother, grandfather, and mother all joined the education corps – so to speak.… Read the rest
Thankfully there are people who provide disparity for children who are marginalized. Some teachers, who are “naturals”, notice, relate, and provide connections even while plowing ahead with the curriculum. Sometimes these school-saviors wear a custodial uniform, arrives on nursing rounds, man the main office, coach a team after school, or they may even be a community volunteer.… Read the rest
Studies on brain development in children, verify that younger brains gather, categorize, and build on information (what we refer to as learning) at exponential rates compared to adults. In addition to learning how to talk, walk, eat with utensils, ties shoes, use the potty, etc.… Read the rest
Lovely bulletin boards, PTA fundraisers, and singing kids at assemblies aside: let us not be fooled…shit-showness is always present to one degree or another.
I support public education. Yes. I. DO. But the problems that schools have are the same problems that the country has.… Read the rest
It’s here…FINALLY! The fashion show of new outfits, the chatter on the playground, the hugging of friends reunited — all of these eternal rituals unfold as the clock ticks down to the first bell of the 2017-2018 school year. Students’ anxiety, which hit when the first back to school commercial began airing, subsides as the inevitable envelops them.… Read the rest
Excerpt from: The March Begins
…I think I can actually smell the hair products, the cold sweats, hear the joyful laughter as well as the well rehearsed inspirational “welcome-back” and “looking-ahead” assembly speeches and intercom announcements…
… Read the rest