In last week’s episode of the Ethical Schools podcast, I highlighted some of the substantial challenges facing the American public education system, namely the glaring disconnect between who the system was intended to serve, and the demographics of students who are in American classrooms today. Systemic overhaul is necessary, and long overdue. This need for…

“EDUCATION IS NOT FILLING A PAIL; IT’S LIGHTING A FIRE.”  The origin of this quote is in question, but there’s no doubt about the meanings. This was the foundation of my teaching over 44 years of working in kindergarten, first, and second grades in three different New York City Public Schools. Our inquiry was certainly…

In March 2020, teaching environments quickly moved to remote learning in an effort to stem the growing COVID-19 pandemic.  As District 6 in Washington Heights grappled with how to continue to serve the educational needs of its nearly 22,000 students — of which 84.6% are Hispanic, 7.1% Black, 5.6%, white and 1.5% Asian — many…

Throughout my two decades teaching,  ethics has been central to what I view as my dual role of educator and mentor. Ethics, from the Greek “ethos,” meaning “character,”  comprise the principles and priorities that govern people’s actions and their relationships with others. What follows is an account of an effort to create on a small…

I have worked in college and career counseling at The Brotherhood/Sister Sol in Harlem since 2001; during the past five years I have formalized the program and spent most of my time on it. In this article, I reflect on lessons learned and make recommendations to those either working in or developing college and career…

How do we, as educators and active participants in society, ensure that all children, not just those parents have money for elite schools, receive music and art education? How did music and other arts become expendable subjects? How can we get decision-makers to see that that the arts are just as important as math, English,…

In 2015-2016, one in every 10 children was homeless, up six percent from the year before. That’s more than 111,500 New York City schoolchildren and, as The New York Times pointed out, “enough to populate a small city.” The Coalition for the Homeless (2017) reports that, with NYC in the worst crisis of homelessness since the…

Education is not preparation for life, education is life itself. – John Dewey John Dewey (1859-1952) was arguably the most consequential educational thinker of the twentieth century. According to Dewey, education should consist of meaningful activity in learning and participation in classroom democracy. Curriculum should be relevant to students’ lives as well as prepare them…

I have told this story of my “disappearance” too many times and yet not often enough in forums that might lead to change. The NYC Department of Education (DOE) disciplinary process for teachers in its current form is deeply unethical, with damaging effects on teachers, students, and schools. Unfortunately, my own experience is by no…

Racism in higher education is often conceptualized as a student or individualized problem. If institutions of higher education are serious about making progress in this arena, however, they need to view racial conflict not as a personal problem but as an organizational issue, where all stakeholders are accountable for the racial incidents that occur on…

The Museum as Ethics Classroom On February 9, 2017, a few weeks after Trump’s presidential inauguration and the Women’s March on Washington, the Brooklyn Museum held a historic gathering, entitled “Defending Immigrant Rights: A Brooklyn Call to Action.” The auditorium was packed to capacity and the energy in the room was palpable. Panel speakers included…

Good evening everyone. Hello, hello. You heard from the Peace Poets before, I normally have a policy of never following the Peace Poets, they go after me. We spoke at NYU on Monday and I made the great, brilliant decision to go first and then they closed it down. You’ve already heard from the, kind…

Upon entering the early education program at Bank Street Graduate School of Education in 2015, I believed there existed a (cultural) tension between progressive pedagogy and its reflection of what seemed to me as middle-upper class white American values versus the more traditional educational styles and methods of teacher-directed instruction and practices.  In my current…

A first grader reaches for a book on the shelf in her classroom at a mid-sized city school in New York’s Hudson Valley. She finds herself in that sweet developmental spot when reading fluency is building, and sounding out words today takes less time than it did yesterday. She has already devoured all of Junie…

The greatest question any authoritative figure can ask a child or a student. Inclusivity in all aspects of decision making is vital, but it is most important in our schools. I would like to consider myself a youth activist working to diversify a segregated school system, and yet while legislation is the ultimate goal in…

I walked into an Upper East Side public middle school and my first stop was the teachers’ lounge where Jane, the Parent Coordinator, waved. She was unable to give me her attention, though, as the phones were ringing off the hook that morning. I was able to hear only her end of the conversations: “You’re…

Note from the editors to our readers and colleagues: We accept articles for our newsletter on any topic related to secular (preferably Deweyan) educational ethics. As you might expect, we have to pass on some articles, but we will let you know whether and when your article will run in the newsletter. Please keep in…