Your Voice Matters: Injustices Being Unsilenced from an Educators Perspective

If you live in America, than you have probably heard about the "American Dream". You know: the white picket fence, two kids, and a piece of property which you can call yours. If you have been blessed enough to reach adulthood in America, then you also know that this "American Dream" that we are taught about at such a young age, does not really exist. Am I saying that no one can never acquire these things? Of course not, but it is very difficult to get these things when there is inflation, jobs not paying more to make up for the inflation, and having a bill that can equate to more than your future home like student loan debt. On top of all of those real life scenarios that I just gave, if you are Black or Hispanic, the "American Dream" just became a bit more difficult due to discrimination, redlining, lack of education, resources, and access to generational wealth. Most African Americans and Hispanics are literally starting from ground zero, and working the

Every year that I grow older, I have come to the realization that there is a huge distraction that Black youth are faced with everyday, and that is Hip Hop aka rap music. Don't get me wrong, I am very well aware as a Black educator that social media platforms like TikTok are causing just as much havoc in our Black youth, but we will focus on one topic at a time. The reality is that there are a lot of young Black youth who are completely lost, especially our young Black men. There are numerous reasons as to why, but I would like to state the obvious ones that we are all well aware of. Issues like poverty, single parent households, Black fathers being incarcerated, and the list goes on and on. In the mist of these issues, a lot of our youth are trying to find ways to cope with these everyday realities that they face, and rap has become a reliable outlet. They find solace in the lyrics, because a lot of the rappers speak on the same struggles that they face everyday, while also braggi

 As an urban educator, I still do not think that there has been enough conversations happening when it comes to the Supreme Courts decision to ban affirmative action in colleges. I'm sure there are parents who may not see this as a threat, especially if their child or children is still in grade school, but please believe me when I say that this decision is very detrimental to urban youth. In this blog today, I will be speaking on the disparities happening in urban education today, and how this decision from the Supreme Court has just made it worse. As an educator, it has been very clear to me that urban education has been failing Black and Hispanic students for a very long time, but throughout my years teaching, I have come to the conclusion that there is more than one reason as to why. There are numerous reasons just to name a few: lack of qualified teachers, lack of parent support, poverty, lack of resources/ funding (etc). This is not just the schools administration fault. This

May is approaching, and most teachers in urban education are probably drained by this point. Not to fear, there is something that is more draining than going through an entire year after the pandemic, and that is the PSSA's. If you are not aware of what the PSSA's are, it is simply a standardized test that public schools in the state of Pennsylvania have to take typically in 3rd-8th grade. You may be thinking, "Well, that can't be so bad", but in reality it is, and for many reasons than one. In this blog, I will be giving you reasons as to why the PSSA's should be banned, and then you can ultimately decide if you agree or do not agree. Deal?                                                                       The PSSA's are Accountability Gone Wrong In 2002, Pennsylvania developed the Pennsylvania Accountability Plan in compliance with the No Child Left Behind Act, so that they could measure school improvement, student achievement, and hold schools accoun

       It has been a while since I last blogged, because life gets busy when you are an adult, but when you have a topic that has been on your mind for a while, you know that it is time to start blogging again. If you have read any of my other blogs, you will be able to piece together fairly quickly, that I am a Black educator who is very passionate about the lives of urban children. There are so many elements outside of just education that becomes a barrier for urban children. These children are facing poverty, lack of resources, and trying to escape the jail cells that society has already put their names on. The school to prison pipeline and the zero tolerance policies is just a few examples of how urban children find themselves first in juvenile detention center, and then in prison not to long after. Even though these topics are very important as well, I want to spend today's blog speaking on behalf of the breakfast programs in Philadelphia that is not supplying urban children f

There has been a long history of urban public schools failing their students time and time again. As an educator, I would be misleading any person who read my blog if I just blamed the urban schools who provide the education for urban children. It is a lot more complex and deeper than just that. Instead, we have to consider politics, systems, government, funding, and the list goes on and on as to why Black and Brown children have been let down for a very long time. When you read this blog, I want you to think of America, and how we have heard time and time again that the American belief that our founding fathers harped on is "liberty and justice for all", but is there really any liberty and justice when it comes to this broken education system for urban children? I would definitely argue no. This is why the Charter School Movement has become so prevalent over the years, because it is supposed to be an alternative to the horrible public schools that are planted in poor neighbo