Diary of a Mad Black Teacher: Part 2: Sandy Hook
The murders of 62 mostly minority children in Chicago this year were just as tragic and newsworthy as the 20 children killed in Sandy Hook. Had you heard about the former statistic? Read Full Post >
Recently in School violence Category
December 29, 2012
August 01, 2012
Take Some Risks With a 50-Blog-Old Teacher
Today marks my 50th blog and my one-year anniversary as a writer for Education Week Teacher. Though I'm new to the blogosphere, I'm not untested. I've seen my share of hate mail; had three different men live with me on my page (guest bloggers); and I've even been accused of having "fans." Life is ... Read Full Post >
May 23, 2012
This Way Out: Few Options for Average Students
A friend I used to work with nine years ago recently contacted me in response to my post Amber Alert: Teenage Boy Mentally Kidnapped by Gangs. He wondered if the 20-year-old man in the post who was killed in an apparent gang shooting was the same student he had taught in 2004 when the deceased was ... Read Full Post >
May 22, 2012
Let's Bring NATO Back To Chicago
Since NATO is a peacekeeping, treaty-making organization, I submit that it comes back to Chicago for another round of negotiations. With youth violence running rampant in minority, low-income urban communities across America, Chicago is the poster child for a new NATO mission: Not Another Teenage ... Read Full Post >
April 25, 2012
Amber Alert: Teenage Boy Mentally Kidnapped By Gangs
Twenty years ago, the guidance counselor at my school was in middle school. His house stood on a corner lot in a gang ridden, Hispanic neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago. He told me he would be doing his homework in his bedroom and hear shooting outside. Instead of getting down low, he would ... Read Full Post >
March 07, 2012
Diary Of A Mad Black Teacher
Somebody just tried to kill my little sister! Like most of us, she works hard to put food on the table. She has a son and daughter, both still in diapers. She has a mortgage, student loans, and a greedy little dog named Sir. Everyday she pounds the pavement in and around Chicago, trying to make a li... Read Full Post >
November 23, 2011
Chicago Reformation: Q&A with CPS CEO Jean-Claude Brizard (Part 3)
During my interview with Jean-Claude Brizard, I asked him to explain the source of his aggressive ambition to fix Chicago Public Schools. Reforming a massive, decades-old, broken urban educational system is not a job one man can do alone. And it's not a job without difficult decisions, political pr... Read Full Post >
August 30, 2011
Dead Child Walking
Some friends from church and I periodically do a community prayer walk, engaging people on the streets to find out what's going on and how we can pray for them. On the evening of August 26, I approached a group of teenagers and asked them how things were going. That's when I met Monique (not her rea... Read Full Post >
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