We demand change!

Some things will never change unless we change it!

I teach numerous subjects, including Consumer Math, Language Arts, World History, and Life Skills. I have worked at the early childhood and secondary levels in middle and high school. I specialize in Special Education, more specifically Social-Emotional Learning. We want to connect equity to every component of Education. That only happens if we are willing to eliminate ineffective support strategies our children receive and build the elements necessary to create a positive, systematic approach to equitable Education for all students.

Each week, I will share information on one of the five issues listed below.

1. Modified Grades – Modified grades are inequitable and misleading.
2. Every Black SEL student needs to be reevaluated. (Non-School district evaluation)
   1. Evaluations that have been done over covid need review; students need to be evaluated once physically back in the building.
3. The Criminal justice system should not be so closely tied to Special Education.
4. Special Education needs to review the criteria for placement into Special Education and add elements that consider students’ culture and background.
5. Sped teachers need more resources and district support to provide Specially Designed Instruction correctly. Paid time in the summer to collaborate with students, former advocate/Special Education teacher, and future general education teachers. 

These are the first five areas that I want to improve, but not the only areas.

For those that are not familiar with Social-Emotional Learning, please look at the graphic. Social-Emotional Learning can be positive if implemented correctly, which is no small task. While I can provide that in my classes, I can not give students a non-modified grade. Regardless of how much work a student does or how much a student can learn.

In my experience, SEL programs are more about controlling Black children’s behavior than they are about being successful in school academically or socially. The number of behavior specialists that I have available to me, compared to the number of academic interventionists, lets me know that my job requires me to control students socially more than it needs me to teach students academically. Segregation, low levels of expectations and accountability, deficit-based approaches, over-emphasis on behavioral support are just a few of the reasons parents and the community need to demand that change. Please email if you have any questions, leave a comment and let me know what you think.