The Intersection: Culture and Race in Schools
Christina Torres is an 8th Grade English Teacher at Punahou School in Honolulu, Hawaii. She has worked with Teach For America, Hope Street Group, the Center for Teacher Quality, and Teaching Tolerance. Find her online: Teach. Run. Write. This blog is no longer being updated.
Equity & Diversity
Opinion
The Importance of Culture
It'd be foolish to not educate high schoolers on things relevant to who they are, or the history and culture of the place they live
Student Well-Being & Movement
Opinion
'Nothing to Be Ashamed Of': My Students on Ethnic Studies
Learning about other cultures gives students the capability to be more empathetic and understanding to the diverse world they inhabit.
School Climate & Safety
Opinion
This Is Real: Building Empathy in Times of Trauma
I wonder if my students truly understand the emotional and traumatic impact these events can have on a community
Education
Opinion
'This Isn't Normal': On Detroit Public Schools
This week, I recommend a Harper's Magazine piece about Detroit schools that showcases how adult struggles can affect the lives of students.
School Climate & Safety
Opinion
Everyone's Fight: What the Pipeline Battle Reminds Us as Teachers
If we are still "teachers" after we leave school, are we willing to stand with the communities we serve even when their problems leave the school as well?
Equity & Diversity
Opinion
Roots: Why We Must Support Non-English Speakers
Students and families for whom English is their second or third language do not process their day to day world, or learning, in the language or through the cultural lens that most public schools have deemed appropriate. Yet, we still push ahead with a mostly sink-or-swim take on ELL education.
School Climate & Safety
Opinion
What Does It Mean to Be 'Safe'?: Kinship in Schools
The value of creating "safe" spaces is to combat a society that has attempted to strip kinship away from us by telling us the things that connected us culturally were never worthwhile to begin it.
Education
Opinion
Schools and Safe-havens
This week, I encourage folks to listen to NPR's Code Switch's podcast episode, "Struggling School, or Sanctuary?"
School Climate & Safety
Opinion
The Creation of a 'Movement for Black Lives' Education Platform Is Essential
I believe that the creation of the platform is an essential, progressive step towards revolutionizing education.
Education
Opinion
A Letter to My Incoming Students
Think of this: out of all the people in the world, the universe conspired to bring the group of us together in this room right now.
School Climate & Safety
Opinion
Models of Excellence: Teaching Tolerance's 2016 Winners
July is winding down to a close, and some of us are preparing to re-enter our classrooms. Even if you're not, you may have had enough of a break to begin wondering, What will I do next year?
Teaching Profession
Opinion
Conversation Can Be Radical: Make Space for Discussions About Race
To bring "equality" and "justice" to a system usually means having to disrupt that system to begin with.
School Climate & Safety
Opinion
No, Pokémon Go Isn't the Death of Society: Why Joy is Essential
If you weren't already committed to tackling the world's injustices before Pokémon Go came out, it probably wasn't the game's popularity that was stopping you.
Education
Opinion
"I Refuse to Live in Fear": Seeing the Light in Students
There is a brilliant light that glows in him and all of our students. Many of us lose the ability to see it, but it doesn't change the fact that it shines in spite of us.