I began my teaching career at Wendell Phillips High School, a school with a student population that is almost entirely African American and living in poverty. Although I had good liberal intentions, my experiences as a middle class Asian American made it a challenge to relate to my students. I...

I blogged about the December 14th takeover of the Chicago Board of Education meeting by parents and educators where I described the feeling of being dismissed by powerful people while presenting cold, hard facts. This was the first Board meeting after Chicago Public Schools (CPS) announced its desire...

This weekend, I felt like I had the same conversation every 15 minutes regarding the Chicago Sun-Times and Better Government Association report on CPS employee unused sick days. Knowing that I was a teacher, over and over again, many of my friends and acquaintances told me, "You know,...

The phrase "education reform" has been co-opted to mean a narrow party program advocated by the reform establishment (mainly billionaires and their designees) that includes a barrage of testing, charter schools, and taking experienced educators out of the classroom.

After years of attending Chicago Board of Education monthly meetings, on December 14, 2011 I felt like I left one where the community was actually heard, by the public and by the board. During the "public participation" segment of the meeting, a lone voice stopped the business-as-usual.

From the