What comes to mind when you think about a classroom? Is it the size of the class? The curriculum the students are learning? Or how about how long a student sits in class without a form of movement to engage their mind? All of these are great things to think about. But does the thought of how diverse the classroom is a thought in your mind? 21st-century classrooms have become much more diverse since the start of education. Teachers must be able to create a classroom setting where all students are welcomed and supported. But this doesn't always happen. I watched recently a TED video where young high school speaker, Elijah Jones speaks out about how his private school in Delaware is not as diverse as he would like it to be. He mentions how in his Biology class, he is the only African American, and in his Math class, he is one of two male African Americans. He also mentions how so far, he has had no teachers of color. Elijah continues to explain how his previous school had a po...
March was supposed to be a good start to a great Spring, but instead I lost the biggest part of my soul on March 1st. I woke up that morning invigorated, ready to start my day, head to work and laugh and smile with all I met. My goal for the day crumbled when my best friend, a four legged ball of love, who after 17 years and 9 months, just couldn't fight on anymore. Chance was what I had named him, after adopting him from shelter in Hopkington, NH. He had been a skittish boy when we first met, unsure of me, of my family, of his surroundings, but it was within this meeting that I could feel the greatest connection I would ever have with anyone or anything. That day we took him home, not before making a quick pit stop at a Kohl's as Chance had gotten ill from his nervousness of being in a car for the first time since he'd been found in a cardboard box. There wasn't a moment where I didn't have him by my side. We spent times at the baseball field down the road f...