public education – Blue Cereal Education

Angry Black Girl

Blue Cereal — Fri, 17 Feb 2023 12:18:49 +0000

I should go ahead and admit up front that I’m probably going to say the wrong thing, or at least say something the wrong way. This is NOT an effort to play my version of the “It’s SO Hard To Be A White Guy” card. It’s hard to be ANYONE these days, but if we … Continue reading

Arts In The Apocalypse

Blue Cereal — Fri, 10 Jun 2022 18:43:10 +0000

If you keep up with education news at all, you know all the usual struggles – class sizes, standardized testing, general hostility towards educators by whoever’s looking to score points with conservatives that week, etc. One of the biggies is the ongoing battle to keep the arts in public education.

Accountability vs. Opportunity

Blue Cereal — Wed, 01 Jun 2022 10:46:26 +0000

One of the coaches in my district approached me last week and asked if I had a moment to talk about a few students. Each of them had come pretty close to passing my class but had fallen short largely due to things entirely within their control – not turning in study guides for easy … Continue reading

8 Lessons For White Teachers In “Urban” Schools

Blue Cereal — Wed, 18 May 2022 23:11:14 +0000

I wrote recently about some of the challenges of being an old white guy from a non-descript middle-class background teaching in a high-poverty, majority-minority school. My goal was to be honest about some of the difficulties without veering into whining or – worse – appearing to criticize my kids. Whatever my struggles, they pale (if … Continue reading

A Leap of Well-Intentioned Delusion

Blue Cereal — Thu, 21 Apr 2022 01:15:43 +0000

There are so many things about teaching that are difficult to explain to those outside the field. (That may be true of other professions as well, but this is the one I know best.) Even within the world of public education, it’s tricky to balance honesty with optimism, or transparency with teamwork. Too much venting … Continue reading

‘D’ Is For ‘Dilemma’

Blue Cereal — Tue, 12 Apr 2022 22:23:13 +0000

I remember sitting down to my very first teacher certification test a quarter-century ago. I’d reported to some obscure little “testing center” hidden in an office complex I’d passed a hundred times without noticing and brought along all the right paperwork. I was armed with a reasonable knowledge of history and plenty of pedagogical theory, with a side of buzzwords and popular edu-trends of the time.

The first section of the exam was multiple choice. I read the first question and marked ‘D’. The second question I felt confident of as well; it also happened to be ‘D’. So was question three. And four. And five.

I stopped after the tenth question and scrolled back through my answers so far. They were all ‘D’.

In Loco Parentis

Blue Cereal — Thu, 24 Mar 2022 04:54:16 +0000

Let’s start by addressing the gaslighting elephant in the room:

I have no interest in parenting your children.

Relationships (Repost)

Blue Cereal — Tue, 08 Mar 2022 19:00:20 +0000

Good morning. Welcome to our first back-to-school faculty meeting. We have several important items on the agenda today, then we’re going to fill the afternoon with pointless activities we found online because the district says we have to professionally develop until at least 3:00 whether we need it or not. As some of you know, we … Continue reading

Teacher Evaluations (Hammers & Nails)

Blue Cereal — Fri, 25 Feb 2022 19:08:31 +0000

There’s a difference between caring how well you’re actually doing your job and caring how well you do on official evaluations. Ideally, the two at least overlap – like a Venn Diagram or pop and hip-hop. That’s not always a given, however. In practice, it’s often more like the relationship between reality and reality TV. I … Continue reading

Five Sources

Blue Cereal — Tue, 15 Feb 2022 01:18:26 +0000

We’ve been reading up on Supreme Court cases involving “student rights” in one of my classes. Most of the readings and videos have involved the biggies – student speech, mostly, and some search and seizure. I recently asked them to pick a topic related to student rights in school, and of course offered a list … Continue reading