Philly's 7th Ward •

The Crisis Of Cell Phones - Philly's 7th Ward

Cell phones are a hot topic in education circles. Should they or shouldn’t they be banned in school? I can say that last school year, my students were distracted by them. My colleagues and I noticed that not banning cell phones enabled students to get distracted during classroom lessons. This was not due to misinformation or cyberbullying happening on social media. Rather they were constantly receiving notifications: texts from friends and family and some received phone calls during the school...
Philly's 7th Ward •

Freedom Teaching During Oppressive Times - Philly's 7th Ward

In Dr. Jarvis Givens’ book Fugitive Pedagogy: Carter G Woodson and the Art of Black Teaching, he details stories of Black teachers circumventing, what he called white surveillance. Black school teachers were often subordinate to white administrators who had a “curriculum” for Black children. Black or African history (told accurately) was not a part of the equation. However, Black teachers understood that Black children needed to know their history and see the truth within an anti-Black soc...
Philly's 7th Ward •

Counting the Cultural Costs Of Enrolling Our Children In School - Philly's 7th Ward

For Black parents, there’s a cultural cost associated with placing their child or children in schools where their peers don’t look like them, their teachers don’t look like them, their administrators don’t look like them, and the parents that are involved with the school and district don’t look like them. These schools are often well funded. Certainly, there are benefits to exposure and where resources are non-issue. African-American students can benefit from exposure to different people, cul...
Philly's 7th Ward •

We Gone Be Alright - Philly's 7th Ward

On January 20, 2025, Martin Luther King Day no less, Donald Trump was inaugurated as president of the United States for the second time. I am sure that many people dreaded that day. I’m sure that many people wanted Kamala Harris to be the person inaugurated on that day. But the truth is that it is not to be her, but Donald Trump. Quite naturally several people are upset and frankly scared for what is on the horizon during the second Trump presidency. I would never disregard or ignore the real...
Philly's 7th Ward •

We Need Black Leadership In Our Classrooms And Schools

We need Black teachers. We also need Black administrators. The unfortunate truth is that the needs are competing not because of Black educators, but because of the white institutional spaces that control hiring. Black teachers represent only 6% of all teachers nationwide; Black male teachers, less than 2% of all teachers nationwide. However, the percentage of Black administrators nationwide is 10%. In my home state of New Jersey, Black teachers make up 6% of all teachers, yet 15% of all admin...
Philly's 7th Ward •

The Good Ole Girls Network

Recently, I attended back-to-school nights for my children at a middle school and elementary school in our district. In each school, I saw that most teachers were white women. As an educator and advocate, I know the national numbers; according to the National Center for Education Statistics, white women are 61% of teachers nationwide. Yet the demographics, when in my face, were hard to ignore. As part of back-to-school night, teachers share personal information about themselves to build relat...
Philly's 7th Ward •

The Comfort with Racism’s Intentionality

A while ago, Philadelphia Inquirer education reporter, Melanie Burney, shed light on a truth many folks are already aware of: Black and Latino students are disproportionately suspended from public schools in New Jersey. Ms. Burney cites the New Jersey Department of Education’s report on Student Safety and Discipline. The report shows that New Jersey’s Black student suspension rate in the 2022-23 school year was 9%, whereas it was only 2.7% for white students. The Latino student suspension rat...
Philly's 7th Ward •

Protect Ya Neck

I am a boxing fan. Recently, Philadelphia’s own Jaron Ennis successfully defended his welterweight championship in the city. But who knew the undercard was this past weekend with two of Philly’s favorite centers, Jason Kelce and Joel Embiid with their separate fights… well maybe not fights. Maybe a scuffle or kerfuffle. Joel Embiid reportedly shoved Philadelphia Inquirer sports reporter Marcus Hayes for referencing his deceased brother and son in an article criticizing his lack of play this s...
Philly's 7th Ward •

Making All Elections Teachable Moments: Before, During, and After

Since 2000, every presidential election has been labeled the most consequential election of our lifetime. The 2000 presidential election was a hotly contested battle between George Bush and Al Gore. Florida was the state in question over uncounted ballots. At the time, the folks in charge of the election were Republicans, and the governor of the state was the Republican governor of the Republican candidate. I was a junior in high school and I remember the running joke among friends was wit...
Philly's 7th Ward •

Halloween: A Time To Learn Black Resistance

Another Halloween has dawned upon us. Depending on how you look at it, Halloween a time for children of all ages to dress up and have fun collecting candy on a crisp fall evening or it can be a time for parents to regular a child’s sugar intake at the conclusion of trick-or-treating. Halloween may be considered the unofficial start of the holiday season or just another day on the calendar. At the very least, most Americans like Halloween. According to a 2021 poll, most Americans like Hallo...
Philly's 7th Ward •

In Tribute To Frankie Beverly

It is often said that Blackness is not a monolith. This may be true about most things. But when it comes to soul music, we’re largely a homogeneous group. Soul music is who we are because the music speaks of the essence of the Black experience; how we live, love, and always look forward to a brighter day. On September 10, 2024, we learned that one of the mighty keepers of that tradition transitioned to an ancestor, and African America mourned. North Philadelphia’s Howard Stanley Beverly, affe...
Philly's 7th Ward •

How Schools Can Ease the Stress - Philly's 7th Ward

I love my children—the children I helped create. They can be a handful, but I cannot imagine life without them. However, raising them in this world is stressful. Thankfully, I have a partner and we work together but even then, parenting remains stressful. It seemed like only other parents could validate this truth. Now, we have further validation from the U.S. Surgeon General. In August, United States Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy released a Surgeon General’s Advisory on the Mental Health...
Philly's 7th Ward •

The Lessons That Adorn My Classroom Walls - Philly's 7th Ward

Early in my teaching career, I was a push-in teacher. It wasn’t because of my content but more out of necessity. Space was often limited; I wasn’t a homeroom teacher. The idea of having my own classroom was really foreign to me. Last year was the first year I was given a classroom. I serve a dual role: teacher and director. I usually have my own office. However, because office space was limited, I was given a classroom. Since I teach, it made sense. Initially, I had to get used to having my o...
Philly's 7th Ward •

Acknowledgment over Appropriation: How White Teachers Can Build Meaningful Connection with Black Students - Philly's 7th Ward

As an educator, I am privileged to work with Black students. Unfortunately, I was, more often than not, the only Black man teacher in those buildings where I taught. It’s a truth for most Black men teachers; we only comprise approximately 1.5% of teachers nationwide. However, that truth provided me with an insight into the experiences of Black and brown children with their white teachers, which sometimes mirrored my own experiences with some of my white teachers when in school.
Philly's 7th Ward •

Prioritize Relationships And Then Routines And Rules - Philly's 7th Ward

The start of the new school year is an opportunity to establish new connections with a different set of students and start afresh. Starting fresh means applying the latest methods, teaching new lessons, and setting new goals. It also means establishing routines and ground rules to build a classroom culture that facilitates learning. Rules and routines are important and necessary: for classrooms and the school building. They keep the school flowing and they also keep students safe. However, he...
Philly's 7th Ward •

Hispanic Heritage Month & Black Resistance - Philly's 7th Ward

Black resistance is central to the Black experience in the United States and throughout the African diaspora. According to Herbert Aptheker, Black resistance took up eight different forms, including purchasing one’s freedom, flight to maroon communities, enlisting in the armed forces of colonial powers and the United States, and revolt or rebellion. The history of Black resistance can be found throughout American History. Because that history triggers white guilt, there is an active campaign...
Philly's 7th Ward •

Say Her Name… Correctly - Philly's 7th Ward

Kamala (Comma-La) Harris is the Vice President of the United States. She is also the Democratic candidate for president of the United States. Certainly, she deserves to have her name pronounced correctly. Yet, she’s received disrespect from conservatives. During a roundtable discussion on CNN, Congresswoman Nancy Lace (R-SC) blatantly mispronounced the Vice President’s name. The Congresswoman said she would “say Kamala’s name any way that I want to.”
Philly's 7th Ward •

The Religion of Whiteness - Philly's 7th Ward

Louisiana is the first state to mandate that a poster-size display of the Ten Commandments be in every classroom; from Kindergarten to higher education classrooms. The state has its republican governor and its majority republican legislature to thank for this new rule. Gov. Jeff Landry said, “If you want to respect the rule of law, you’ve got to start from the original lawgiver, which was Moses.” Similar bills requiring the Ten Commandments to be displayed in classrooms exist in other states...
Philly's 7th Ward •

DEI IS THE NEW N-WORD - Philly's 7th Ward

The terms/acronyms “woke,” “DEI,” and “CRT” are used in a derogatory way, interchangeably, as a coded language to signify or designate a Black person as either Black or the N-word. Political conservatives use these frequently. They’re not hiding their vitriol for any backlash against whiteness, white supremacy, and racial capitalism. They’re highlighting it and specifically, perpetuating harm done to Black people. Their narrative shaping unfortunately changes not only the use of these but als...
Philly's 7th Ward •

The Importance of Finishing - Philly's 7th Ward

We live in a very results-driven society where finishing isn’t enough. In other words, how one performs often matters more than simply completing a performance. There is something to that. I don’t simply want a meal, I’d like a well-cooked meal. There’s greater satisfaction after eating a well-cooked meal, versus just a cooked meal. However, there is value in finishing the task of cooking. For example, using the same analogy, making a well-cooked dish isn’t a more important endeavor than o...
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