Our Blog: The Standard

Unless you’re a journalist, it’s dangerous to write history while it is being made.  However, as teachers, we don’t always have the luxury of waiting for the dust to clear before taking stock.  We have a tremendous opportunity in front of us.  Having no choice but to try new things during the pandemic, we have the rare chance to rebuild things from the ground up.  When things do return to some semblance of “normal,” we can’t just go back to business as usual.  Before we lose the moment’s sharpness and the adrenaline fades, let’s seize the moment and maintain focus…

Dedicated to Stacy Nishina, HSTA Deputy Executive Director In the summer of 2013, I received a phone call from an NBCT on a neighbor island who had created a small network of NBCTs. She had received an invitation to attend the National Board Leaders Convening in Raleigh, North Carolina and was unable to attend. I couldn’t believe that she was asking me. I immediately agreed. Then, she continued, “Oh good. I’ve asked all the NBCTs I know and none of them could attend.” My heart dropped. I suddenly felt like the girl who is asked to dance only after all the…

Twenty rectangles appear. First Kylee, in double French braids and her lashes. Then Tapa, outside working on a lei for his project. Eden is by her bed, and Gardenia sits with her back against the white wall. Lili chats that she just got up and that Lei is with her. Lele sits with the toddlers on the recliner. Sela is at a desk looking like a boss.  These are just a few of today’s mix of our 9-12th grade students. It is the end of January. We are approaching a year since we replaced the hum of our traditional classrooms…

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…

Throughout 2020, the world experienced much tribulation. Last January we opened the year hopeful but unaware of what enormous turmoil was yet to come. A pandemic rising to a magnitude, so clearly unfathomable, that we’d lose hundreds of thousands of lives. In addition, we quickly ascertained how aggressively the pandemic would change the trajectory of how we live, breathe, and educate our students today. As a result, COVID-19 has revealed much in the way of challenges and opportunities. We have been forced to reimagine, re-engage, and reflect on what it means to teach effectively without compromising the impact to student…

I was in sixth grade during the “No Child Left Behind” era. I was told to choose a career path and somehow determine whether I should take advanced placement, college-prep, or college-tech prep courses in high school. I was eleven years old. I had no career in mind so, with tears in my eyes, I asked my father, “What should I do?” “Well, Nick, you can be anything you want… Just as long as it’s not retail.” My father explained how much he hated working weekends and the absurdly long hours from Thanksgiving to Christmas. I was convinced, but his…

Great teachers dedicate time to learn about their students. Getting a holistic picture of each child allows proficient educators to design instruction to meet specific needs. The COVID 19 pandemic has put new obstacles between teachers and students that seem insurmountable at times. I am impressed with the way some educators have adjusted amid turmoil and suffering. Initially, the threat of federal accountability loomed large, as if there was not enough for teachers and students to bear. Formative assessment is more critical than ever. The majority of teachers in the nation are working hard to meet student needs and deserve…

Aunty Puanani Burgess, a Hawaiian activist, poet, and community leader, writes about how to build community, how to help people know themselves, and each other. She focuses on finding and sharing our moʻolelo, our stories. In examining our lives to find words for our stories, she underscores the power of asking questions, of questioning even, and especially our most closely held beliefs. There is value in the kind of questioning Aunty Pua asks of us. Especially valuable is to question the institutions that are so ubiquitous we forget that certain aspects of them could be different; we forget that these…

As early as I can remember, I was a teacher. When I was young, I even asked for a chalkboard for Christmas so I could teach my imaginary students. However, my family struggled with money and nonessentials were not on our list-not even for Christmas. However, my passion for teaching would continue.   I continued to teach my students -who were made from stuffing and cloth- in the room that I shared with my mom. I marched around pretending to read books that I had memorized or simply made up as I went along. I wrote on my pretend chalkboard, and…

There is a story about a farmer’s donkey who falls down a well. The farmer tries to get the donkey out, but decides that the animal is too old to bother saving, and the well needs to be covered up anyway. He and his neighbors start shoveling dirt into the well. At first, the donkey realizes what is happening and starts to cry. But then he quiets down. The farmer looks down at the donkey and is amazed at what he sees. With every shovel of dirt that hits the animal’s back, the donkey shakes it off and takes a…