If I Get Shot at School

If I get shot at school, don’t call the shooter evil, don’t ask, “Why?” don’t say it was a “senseless tragedy.” If I get shot at school, don’t ask “How could this happen?” don’t say there was “no good reason.” If I get shot at school, don’t call me a hero. If I get shot …

The Decline of Indoctrination in Oklahoma Classrooms

There was a time in Oklahoma when political indoctrination in public school classrooms was a systemic problem. This was a time when particular political ideologies were seen as part and parcel of the educational goals of the entire U.S. public school system. It was a time when students were not given the opportunity to question …

Deadnaming in the Classroom and How to Avoid It

Like so many school experiences in the U.S. over the last two years, my management, organization, and delivery of instruction as a classroom teacher has forever been altered by distance learning, one-to-one technology, and the use of a learning management system (referred to here as LMS). In 2021, some teachers opted to revert to pencil …

The Somewhat Philosophical Argument Against Zeros in Grading

(Note: Immanuel Kant inexcusably espoused racist ideology as part of the so-called “race science” of the Enlightenment era. Some of Kant’s contributions to metaphysics and ethics are used here as analogous to the debate over teacher’s assigning zeros to student work. Nothing written here should be understood as an endorsement of Kantian philosophy.)  There is …

Oklahoma Senate Bill 658 Gave Me COVID-19

As I type these words, I can feel my COVID-19 symptoms developing from a minor cough and sore throat to something that makes it difficult to see the words on my computer screen through the fluid accumulating behind my eyes. You see, I am a public school teacher in Oklahoma, where local school boards have …

U.S. Public School Policies and Practices Support Open Borders

Arguably the most valuable words in the U.S. Constitution are found in the Fourteenth Amendment, often referred to collectively as the “Equal Protection Clause.” No state shall “deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” Since the Fourteenth Amendment was adopted in 1868, the Equal Protection Clause has been invoked …

Trauma Informed Schools: The New ‘New Paternalism’

In 1997, New York University professor, Lawrence M. Mead, edited a book entitled “The New Paternalism: Supervisory Approaches to Poverty.” Mead’s work, spanning more than 30 years, has been highly influential in the implementation of draconian and ineffective work requirements for government assistance programs. “The New Paternalism” directly inspired noted education reformer, David Whitman, to …

The Movement to End American Football Begins in Schools

The dangers of playing American football are increasingly becoming common knowledge. Further scientific evidence emerges almost on a daily basis relative to a condition in former players known as Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy or C.T.E. There are currently only two kinds of football fans. There are those football fans who know the danger and are interested …

Absent Students Should Not Make Happy Teachers

I had a class a few years ago that in 180 days of school there seemed to be only a handful of days in which the entire class was in attendance. There were several factors which seemed to contribute to this “problem.” The class met 1st hour, which meant that absences were higher than classes …

This Public School Teacher Does Not Pledge Allegiance to the Flag

I have not pledged “allegiance to the flag of the United States of America” in more than eight years. My personal objections to participating began as religious (see Anabaptist theology and practice). I was not teaching at the time, so like so many Americans, public situations that observed the pledge were a very irregular part …