Back By Popular Demand

Hm: “White people don’t show hints of unconscious bias against blacks who belong to the same group as them, a new study suggests.” The Situationist
and
Yum: Fleur Verte, a perennial Rockridge favorite.

Separate and Unequal: Berkeley High

I’ve long had reservations about Berkeley High and the way its small schools function to divide students academically, which unintentionally tends to lead to further divisions along social and racial lines.  Earlier today I was talking to another teacher about how I’m working to address the achievement gap in my classroom, and happened to bring [...]

What’s Up With Black History Month

I’ve been thinking about BHM, and wanted to say something about it on ARL, so I did a little digging.  The first thing I came up with was Cynthia Tucker’s article that was published locally in the Chronicle on 2/9/09.  I think Tucker did a brilliant job elucidating the issues around keeping up the tradition, [...]

What I’ve been reading at nytimes.com this week

I can’t wait to read the Vena Cava blog.
I love Brussels sprouts.
The more I think about it, the more upset I am about this.
I’m so glad this is not my life.
The achievement gap is even wider between high-income high-achieving whites and high-income high-achieving blacks.
Let’s get more in-depth about how the stimulus will help schools that serve [...]

Thoughts On Civil Rights

As you’ve noticed, MLK Day and President Obama’s inauguration have given me pause to reflect on the state of civil rights in our country.  Today I heard an interesting perspective and some disturbing facts regarding the subprime mortgage market crash and the affects it has had on black homeowners.  The report comes from commentator Amelia [...]

WOOOOOOHOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!

Dr. King’s Prediction

BBC World News America has unearthed a fascinating clip of Dr. Martin Luther King speaking to the BBC’s Bob McKenzie in 1964 in which Dr. King predicts an African-American president “in less than 40 years.” 

A MUST SEE.  CLICK HERE TO SEE THE VIDEO VIA BBC.

I Never Thought I Could Love an Economist

Talk about love at first sight.  
Listen to Mr. Fryer’s words.  
The achievement gap is the number one civil rights issue in this country.  
AND the man is funny–he schools Colbert!  Beautiful.  Please watch this.  
Roland Fryer on The Colbert Report
I’m in love.

More links to learn more about Fryer and his project to address the [...]

We Have A Lot Of Work To Do

You can’t all drop everything you are doing right now and become a teacher.
BUT you CAN and you MUST wake up tomorrow morning and pledge to do one thing, one small thing, for a needy public school.  
Why?
The children in our needy public schools are the children who are left behind, left behind enemy lines, [...]

Successful Teachers=?=Successful Students

This is an interesting model. 
CHRISTINE GRALOW also makes an important connection between two groups of kids that our schools consistently fail: low income children and special education children.  Often these two groups are one and the same.  We need to continue exploring these issues.
While charter schools are not a panacea for our struggling public education system, [...]