A former writing teacher, Marilyn Anderson Rhames was the Manager of Alumni Relations at a charter school in Chicago. She holds master’s degrees in education and journalism, is a former Teach Plus</a> policy fellow, and a founder of the nonprofit Teachers Who Pray. In 2013, Rhames received the Educator’s Voice Award for her blog and was also named “Commentator/Blogger of the Year” by the Bammy Awards. Follow her on Twitter @MarilynRhames. This blog is no longer being updated.
School Climate & Safety
Opinion
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."
Reading & Literacy
Opinion
Colorado Red: A Poem for the Victims
Color-ado, a color of red
Red for the senseless blood that was shed
Red for the senseless blood that was shed
School & District Management
Opinion
Teachers Play A Mean Game of 'Would You Rather?'
Last year during a staff professional development, we played a fun little game called Would You Rather? A moderator asked a series of ridiculous questions and the staff had to choose between two distasteful options, indicating our choice by moving to either side of the room. Let's play a few rounds!
School Choice & Charters
Opinion
Raise Your Hand If You Earned Your Summer Break
My summer break started just a week ago. As a charter school teacher, I work all year round. Our summer break started after Independence Day and I'm back to work in mid-August. Yes, I'm at work when the dog days of summer first start barking, and I'm back to work long before those dogs have a chance to calm down.
Equity & Diversity
Opinion
How Many PB & J Sandwiches Does It Take to Pay For College?
At the start of 2010, my husband and I made a resolution that drastically changed our lifestyle. It caused us both joy and pain. Some people scoffed. Others thought we were weird. We decided to live on much less than we earned in an effort to become debt-free.
School & District Management
Opinion
Teachers: Heroes, Victims, or Somewhere in Between?
Teachers come in all shapes and sizes. Some of us are good teachers and some of us should have quit a long time ago. Some of us are excited about life while others tame thoughts of suicide with daily doses of Prozac. Some teachers are madly in love with their spouses while others enjoy illicit affairs after school. If any of this is shocking to you, than you may not have realized this simple fact: Teachers are people, too. We breathe. We cry. We struggle.
Equity & Diversity
Opinion
Closing Argument: Chicago Must Finish What It Started in Education Reform
Just this week, while at Antioch Missionary Baptist Church on the South Side of Chicago, I shared with the congregation that the district's new graduation rates are the highest on record. Undoubtedly, this is good news. For the first time in decades the district has achieved a graduation rate of over 60 percent, with steady increases over the past five years.
Teaching Profession
Opinion
The Secret Lives of Black Teachers
This weekend, I am hosting a spiritual conference for teachers of all pedagogical preferences, political persuasions, and ethnicities. It is designed to allow educators of like faith to pray together and to encourage us to express an aspect of our personality that we often conceal from our peers at work. Like everyone else, teachers hold secrets—some so painful, some so joyous it's hard to contain.
Student Well-Being & Movement
Opinion
For At-Risk Students, School Mother Knows Best
I'm a "school mom" to two unrelated African American boys at my school. It's a term of endearment, and the card I use when I really want them to listen and do what I say. I code switch and speak to them in a tone and vernacular that they are accustomed to hearing at home. Sometimes, I just give them that look and they get the message.
College & Workforce Readiness
Opinion
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 in 6th grade. The answer, unfortunately, was yes.
School Climate & Safety
Opinion
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:
Teaching Profession
Opinion
Administrators: Don't Hate--Appreciate!*
Did you know that this week is the official Teacher Appreciation Week? If you didn't I'm not surprised. I taught in Chicago Public Schools for four years before I learned that such a "holiday" existed.
Teaching
Opinion
Lesson Planning: The Task I Love To Hate
What would you say is the hardest part of teaching? For me, it is lesson planning. It takes me on average six hours a week to plan instruction for the nine science units I teach each year.
School Climate & Safety
Opinion
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 go to the window to see the action. He'd see the shooter, the runner, and the get away car. Then he would go back to doing his homework.