Teaching Blog

Charting My Own Course

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 This blog is no longer being updated.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 Panic, Shame, and Cuffs: An Account From an Arrested Black Teacher
When a simple traffic violation lands an upstanding teacher on her way to a prayer meeting in handcuffs, maybe there's a problem with the way we do policing in low-income Black communities.
Marilyn Rhames, November 4, 2014
9 min read
College & Workforce Readiness Opinion Pardon My Ignorance But ... Is High School Really This Crazy?
After 12 years in K-8 education, I'm finally getting a glimpse of the world of high school—and it's a totally different, sometimes bizarre, world.
Marilyn Rhames, October 21, 2014
6 min read
Teaching Opinion For the Love of Music, Teach Violin in Schools!
An casual trip to a violin shop--and an encounter with a luthier--radically changed one teacher's perspective on education, the economy, and the virtues of music itself.
Marilyn Rhames, October 1, 2014
4 min read
Teaching Profession Opinion Three Ways to Take the 'Shame' Out of Teaching
In this guest blog, educator Sara Urben explains why the teaching profession is cloaked in shame and offers three strategies to shake it off.
Marilyn Rhames, September 24, 2014
5 min read
Equity & Diversity Opinion How to Get a Dropout Back in School—Mama Style!
When it comes to decreasing the dropout rate, some kids just need a hefty dose of "Mama."
Marilyn Rhames, September 9, 2014
3 min read
Teaching Profession Opinion A Teacher Married to the Classroom Gets a Divorce
What could cause a teacher who was in love with the profession quit in the prime of her career?
Marilyn Rhames, August 20, 2014
3 min read
Teaching Opinion Why the Best Teachers Are Famous and Have Famous Friends
My famous friend, TV producer Paula Yoo, helped me revolutionize my writing instruction. Every teacher needs a friend who inspires him to keep dreaming, keep pushing, and keep evolving into a force that will one day flip the field of education right side up.
Marilyn Rhames, August 4, 2014
6 min read
Families & the Community Opinion Teacher Repents for Going 'Ghetto' on a Parent
After finally lashing back at an insolent parent, I realize why its important for me, the teacher, to apologize first—and never go there again.
Marilyn Rhames, July 11, 2014
4 min read
Equity & Diversity Opinion The Boys Book Club Experiment: The Conclusion
With the Warriors Boys Book Club now over, but I'll be analyzing the results from this experiment for at least the next four years.
Marilyn Rhames, June 18, 2014
5 min read
Equity & Diversity Opinion The Boys Book Club Experiment: Day 26
A great lesson in my boys club goes terribly wrong. This is what I learned and what I hope the boys learned, too.
Marilyn Rhames, June 4, 2014
6 min read
School & District Management Opinion What Did 'Brown v. The Board of Education' Ever Do for Me?
If Brown was supposed to desegregate schools, why didn't I ever get to see the benefit? Two words: white flight.
Marilyn Rhames, May 21, 2014
3 min read
Equity & Diversity Opinion The Boys Book Club Experiment: Day 11
After just two weeks, Nine out of the ten students in my Warriors Boys Book Club are achieving new-found success. Rewards, footage of Kevin Durant, and a book about middle school students torturing their teacher are yielding strong results.
Marilyn Rhames, May 7, 2014
3 min read
Teaching Profession Opinion It's Hard to Pray for Public Education ... But I Do It Anyway
The National Day of Prayer falls on every first Thursday in May, and tomorrow I will lead the prayer for education at a prayer breakfast in downtown Chicago. While I'm honored to have been asked, this role comes with great responsibility.
Marilyn Rhames, April 30, 2014
3 min read
Teaching Opinion The Boys Book Club Experiment: Day One
A follow-up to my first blog about my Reading Warriors all-boys book club, I update readers on how the first day went. I want to help ten hard-to-reach Latino boys how be successful students, but this project is turning out to be much more interesting than I expected.
Marilyn Rhames, April 23, 2014
4 min read