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              In “Nice is not Enough. Defining Caring for Students of Color”, Sonia Nieto attempts to describe what real “care” should look like in a classroom composed of students of color. She mentions Rosalie Rolòn-Do’s perspective which calls for a “response to students’ actual personal  ives and to the institutional barriers they encounter as members of racialized groups. Teachers must understand individual students within their concrete sociopolitical contexts and devise specific pedagogical and curricular strategies to help them navigate those contexts successfully.” I agree whole heartedly with what she is saying but it also fills me with anxiety because I wish I could spend a whole day and school year getting to know my class. Some students are only with me for a semester and making time to get to know them can easily be misconstrued as targeting them.   However, my best friend in this endeavor continues to be my beginni...

As with most pedagogical strategies, the "Why" is often researched and laid out far more frequently than the "How". I for one was guilty at one point for the misconception that designing culturally responsive lessons meant that I had to tie it in to the racial backgrounds found in my classroom. It wasn't until I reflected on one of my lessons with one of my professors, that I learned I had been doing it all along. As explained by Zaretta Hammond, the author of Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain , what it really entails is mimicry of the learning styles embedded within the different cultures. She gives a quick explanation on what culturally responsive teaching is and some quick strategies that can be incorporated into any curriculum in the following article found on the cultofpedagogy.com . I for one always count on cooperative learning to enhance my students' experience in class. It makes it possible for me to observe their interpersonal skills...

Franchesca Ramsey and Paulo Freire both touch upon a very important point. It is important to walk the walk. Franchesca says that in fact, among her tips for being a good ally, the most important one is using “Ally” as a verb. It is pointless to say that you are going to help the marginalized if you don’t actually get up and try to make an impact. The same sentiment is expressed and demonstrated by the way Paulo led his life. He was committed to changing the status quo by pursuing a less dehumanizing, more humane world for all. According to him, educators play a huge role in this and they need to recognize their power as a source of political awareness.             As someone who grew up in a family where politics were not discussed, because “beggars cannot be choosers”, it has been a huge learning curve for me, particularly over the past few years with all of the attention received by our last president and constant t...

On my way to work every morning I listen to a radio show called the Breakfast Club on 94.5FM. Yesterday they had on a syndicated t.v. court Judge Faith Jenkins on their show. Typically this show is about the latest news in the entertainment business but I’ve grown to love how they always seem to ask the right questions of the people they invite on the show. While on the show they began to ask the judge questions about prosecutors, lack of resources for public defenders and the huge lack of representation for the “haves” vs. the “have-nots”. The judge quoted her college professor in asking “Would you rather be rich and guilty or poor and innocent”? The conversation went on about the moral dilemma of having to represent guilty people and about tax payers’ money being spent on years of incarceration for those people while simply waiting to stand trial and someone asked the judge, “Why even provide legal services for people who are blatantly guilty? Why not save the money?” T...