Instruction & Curriculum

I recently watched an Instagram reel of a gal tandem jumping.  I can’t quit thinking about it.  She is stuck at the start, her whole body tight, her eyes darting back and forth.  She’s terrified.  Less than one minute later, she is grinning ear-to-ear, laughing, arms outstretched and soaring!  How did this shift happen? As […]

In 2010, I worked at Boude Storey Middle School in the South Oak Cliff community, one of Dallas’s most impoverished areas. Like all other campuses, we had a special education classroom for our nonverbal students. A young lady named “Laci” was in that class. Every time I would pass her in the hallways, she would […]

In 1939, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington was a big hit in theaters. The film is about a naive small-town guy who takes on corruption. The movie instantly became a classic and a part of the American zeitgeist.  We’ve had many Mr. Smiths sent to Washington since then. Most, if not all, have claimed that […]

Indigenous Peoples‘ Day is celebrated on the second Monday in October, and with that comes disinformation about the people who first inhabited North America. Many students know the phrase, “In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue.” However, Columbus was not the first foreign explorer to reach the Americas, nor did he or his predecessors “discover” […]

By R. S. Hill    As a high school English teacher in Tucson, Arizona, I work at one of the most diverse schools in the state.  Most days, I stand before an apathetic, though inquisitive, audience and try to convince—no, sell—15 to 18-year-olds on the radical idea that reading old texts like the Iliad, Beowulf, and […]

Dear Free Application for Student Aid (FAFSA), My name is Shareefah Mason. I am a Presidential Leadership Scholar who currently serves as the Director of Teacher Experience at a national non-profit that prepares prospective teachers. I worked as an Associate Dean of Educator Certification at the largest community college system in Texas. I taught in […]

“I know nothing about Project 2025. I have no idea who is behind it.” Those are the words from former president Donald Trump last month. Like so many other lies he tells, I didn’t personally believe him. For me, Donald Trump has made it clear where he stands on the notion of many things, like […]