Education
We Need More Black Teachers. Here’s How to Make That Happen
When I was a kid, I didn’t plan on becoming a teacher. In fact, teaching wasn’t considered an option. My plan was to become an […]
A Camden Educator on Why His Students Crave the Truth
Like many educators, I spent a portion of my summer break teaching students. In July, I was working with high-schoolers on crafting their personal statements […]
How Do We Teach History in America Today?
On a Tuesday in late June, we gathered six distinguished local educators (meet the panel) in our offices in the Curtis building, just off Independence […]
What a German Taught Me About His Country and the Holocaust
Back when I was in college, a good friend started dating a German guy. He was from a small town in Bavaria and owned lederhosen […]
Education 2022: See No Evil. Hear No Evil. Teach No Evil?
When I reached out to Philadelphia journalism legend Linn Washington Jr. to ask if he would moderate a discussion about how — in the continuing […]
The Fight Over How to Teach America’s Past Is Itself a Test
Benjamin Franklin didn’t coin the phrase that nothing can be certain but death and taxes. Other writers said it first. But out of anyone, he, […]
Meek Mill, Kevin Hart and Michael Rubin’s Millions Won’t Help the Abbott Elementaries of Our City
For the past month, I’ve been falling in love with the new hit ABC show Abbott Elementary. Inspired by a real-life teacher in a Philadelphia […]
It’s Not Just Amy Gutmann. Philly-Area College Presidents Are Leaving in Droves
The recent news that University of Pennsylvania president Amy Gutmann has been tapped by President Joe Biden to become the nation’s ambassador to Germany wasn’t […]
Meet the Philly Teen Who Just Won the Prestigious Gates Scholarship
On Tuesday night at 8 p.m., 18-year-old Southwest Philadelphia resident Akayla Brown received a life-changing email. She learned she was one of 300 high-school students […]
Dolly Parton Will Send Free Books to up to 2,000 Philly Kids Each Month
Dolly Parton is having a moment. A rather extended one, in fact. More than 54 years after she released her first album, the music icon […]
A Philly Teacher Opens Up About What Really Happens in the Online Classroom
If this is not the strangest school year of all time, then it’s surely close. Kindergarten through high school — all taught from home and […]
10 Virtual School Tips from a Philly Parenting Consultant
If you have school-age children in the Philadelphia area during COVID, chances are they are doing virtual school this fall. This presents a host of […]
Parents, Teachers and Activists Want to Rename These Philly Schools
The Frank Rizzo statue is toast. That Christopher Columbus statue in South Philly would seem to have a similar destiny. So what do we do […]
I Was a Virtual Teacher This Summer. Nobody Is Talking About the Real Reasons Public School Kids Will Struggle This Fall.
“Make sure their cameras are on and they keep their mics muted,” my program director advised us on a Zoom conference call. “Even though we’re […]
What Should Being Black in Philly Look Like? It Should Embrace Spiritual Diversity and Model Equity
Leslie D. Callahan, 50, of West Philadelphia, is senior pastor at St. Paul’s Baptist Church. Nearly two decades ago, when I was determining where I […]