Revisiting the incident, I learned never to doubt the abilities of my students to communicate meaningful information. Jack is sometimes inattentive in class, playful, and has some speech challenges, so I developed a misconception about him.

I knew exactly where to find it. It has been in the same place for years, top shelf sitting with the other influential books of my life. I reached for it, remembering that the cover is no longer attached to the well loved book. I blew the dust off and began to reminisce about the life changing moment when I first sat down with it.

Prior to my son being born, I always saw the world differently. Prior to my son being born, I always recognized inequalities that existed.  Prior to my son being born, I never felt compelled to speak out.

Teaching for Change has opened up a new world for me. As the ESOL Department Chair at Buck Lodge Middle School in PG County, I am always trying to find ways to advocate for my students who mostly come from Central America. The Introduction to Central America lesson has allowed me to show our teachers how they can make better connections with our students.

On June 12, 2016, Teaching for Change celebrated the work of the teachers from our inaugural Stories from Our Classrooms social justice teacher writing group. Every month on a Sunday, social justice teacher writers came together to write, reflect, and share. The event opened with teachers each reading one of the lines below to highlight what they did and why. Read more >>