Chris Murray, NBCT

From as early as I can remember in elementary school, I had difficulties with words, spelling, and sounds. That difficulty was diagnosed when I was in fourth grade (currently the majority of cases of dyslexia are not identified until at least third grade), but I truly did not begin to understand that it is dyslexia that I have until last year when my son was diagnosed with it. I learned that dyslexia is often genetic, that my father, a successful architect, who, to this day, never reads for fun, inherited it from his father who was never a fan of…

On Thursday, January 7 more than 50 educators from Montgomery County Public Schools (MD) continued their journey to a deeper understanding of how gender impacts our students. This PD provided educators an opportunity to learn from experts in the field about ways to make our schools and school systems do everything they can to allow all students to find gender congruence, the feeling of harmony in our gender in their lives.  In that session, we discussed some of the key recommendations from Gender Spectrum and GLSEN. They left an impact on all who attended. I want to share them with…

Since achieving National Board certification in adolescent social studies several years ago, I have felt a need to continue to educate myself and lead in my specific passion — religious literacy. One religious community that continues to face alarming amounts of discrimination in and out of the classroom is the American Muslim population. This summer I was fortunate enough to be selected by the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding to serve as one of their educators. ISPU conducts objective, solution-seeking research that empowers American Muslims to develop their community and fully contribute to democracy and pluralism in the United…