Ebony Manion | The many jobs of teaching
When I was in first grade or second grade, they pulled me out of the classroom to teach other students how to read. I guess I was a really good reader. I don't remember why they asked me, but they…
Teacher stories, interviews, and videos related to elementary school.
Raphael Bonhomme | Teacher collaboration and how “iron sharpens iron”
It wasn't my original plan to become a teacher. At first, I didn't know if I was gonna go to college or not, but I ended up getting accepted into three schools. I wanted to do advertising. I was being…
Hannah Halpern | Navigating the DC Public Schools system
I pretty much always knew I wanted to work with kids because I always found joy in it. I felt I had innate instincts, and I knew how to navigate different situations. When I was seven or eight years old,…
Khalid Birdsong | “You can leave education and come back into it”
At first, I didn't want to be a teacher. I come from teachers. My mother's a teacher, my grandmother was a teacher — on my mother's side, there are teachers all the way back to slavery. I grew up in…
Kritika Srinivasan | Behavior and bearded dragons
My mom came to the U.S. from India. She got a scholarship to do her PhD in French at UCLA, and then she adopted me from India when I was six months old. It was a huge family occasion —…
Black History Month: Educators Share Their Thoughts
Throughout this month, we celebrate Black excellence, heritage, and tradition. Though it’s crucial to honor Black history all year long, Black History Month invites teachers to dig deeper, provide students with more context, and connect the past to the present in meaningful ways.
Terrence Smith | Teaching in partnership with the community
My aunt and uncle raised me. I’m the youngest of seven kids; my brother and I were taken away from our biological parents due to their drug addiction. I was adopted by my mother’s sister right after I was born,…
BryAnn Sandy | Reflections of a new teacher
I was born in Brooklyn. I grew up from pre-K to seventh grade in the Bronx — but then they started to raise the rent. The buildings were terrible. My mom told us the rent prices and the conditions of…
Aidn White | Changing the narrative on caregiving
I grew up in Wisconsin with nine younger cousins and two younger siblings. I was constantly asked to babysit them, from the time I was nine years old all the way until I left for college. At the time, I…
Madrid Neighborhood School | 7 teachers share their stories
Seven teachers from Madrid Neighborhood School in Phoenix, Arizona share their perspectives on K-12 education.