This week I posted a video and it went viral on Instagram and TikTok.
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My intention for posting this particular video was simply to highlight a joyful moment from my classroom: me sharing with my current students that a former student (and an alumni of our school) Ro Ransom name-checked me in one of his rap songs, “Floetry,” back in 2018.
Here’s the full song and please support Ro Ransom’s work by streaming him on Spotify and also on Apple Music.
It never even crossed my mind that my video would have had such a wide appeal to so many people online.
However, if you’ve scrolled on social media over the past few weeks, there has mostly just been horrific and depressing news about what happened in Israel and is now occurring in Gaza. There was also yet another mass shooting in America last week, this time in the state of Maine.
Gruesome news.
So, I think my video was a much-needed quick escape from all of the bad news. Not to say we should not pay attention to what is happening. Just that everyone needs a break sometimes.
I also think the popularity of the video is a testament to the power of education and a much-needed reminder of why we must fight not just to preserve our public education system but also work to improve it. For one, the teacher retention rate is at an all-time low as a result of many factors, including attacks on teachers from the far right. In addition, teacher pay is far from competitive, deterring many potentially incredible educators from pursuing a teacher career. Talented people who could have changed young lives as educators end up pursuing professions that pay more.
I speak about this here:
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A few people even messaged and commented on my video that it inspired them to become a teacher now. However, if we want to ensure that our kids get the best possible teachers in their respective classrooms, we must make funding and building public education a much higher priority in our country.
Thank you to Audra Schroeder at Daily Dot for writing an article about my video
and here’s a video further explaining the story
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Another highlight of my week was that I was included in a CNN.com article, “Teachers Struggle With Israel-Hamas Discussion in Classrooms”
I further explore this in my article for Chalkbeat from the other week. Here it is if you missed it:
I am sending you all love during these incredibly tense and heartbreaking times.
Thank you for all of your continued support and community. xoxo
Love to see this