Category: Public Commentary

Mar 09

FLASHBACK: Welcome to Camden, President Obama: Here are some things you need to know about education here and in cities like ours

…the original can be found here…http://www.bluejersey.com/2015/05/welcome-to-camden-president-obama-here-are-some-things-i-think-you-need-to-know-about-education/ On May 18, 2015, President Barack Obama made a presidential trip to Camden to talk about “Camden Rising”. He spoke of stronger bonds between the new Camden County Police Department and residents, an economic resurgence embodied in the arrival of massive corporations, and a Continue Reading…

Mar 02

The Genuine Problems I have with the Education Reform Community…a series (Pt. 2)

“Failing” (their definition) schools are not the cause for the lack of future opportunities for low-income students of color, but capitalism and racial discrimination are. And, education reform through urban school closure and broader proliferation of corporate charter schools, as advocated by the Education Reform Community, does nothing to address either.

Mar 02

How My Wife’s Journey in School Made Me a Better Educator

There is a very special woman in my life that taught me much of what I know about education…

Feb 27

The Genuine Problems I Have with the Education Reform Community…a series (Pt. 1)

Reason 1: Their Committed Ignorance that Urban Education Reform through Dismantling Public Schools is More Subversive than Simply Improving Educational Trajectories for Students of Color

Feb 26

Trust the Wisdom of Our Students: A Case for Camden* County College

(Feel free to subsitute Camden for any county – the message stays the same) Each Spring, in efforts the celebrate our graduating public-school seniors, the Camden Education Association publishes the name of every graduating senior along with their post-secondary destination whether it be college, trade school, employment, or the military. Continue Reading…

Feb 26

Where We, in Camden’s (Urban) Public Schools*, Dropped the Ball (reprise)

The common understanding of “better” schools motivating parents to choose schools is understood to reference a better academic setting, but this is a not central motivator for school selection. Parent choice by urban parents is more complex than “school quality”

Feb 25

The Op/Ed TAPIntoCamden Refused to Run… sent 2/16/2020

“If you’re not careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed, and loving the people who are doing the oppressing.”

Feb 25

In Camden, Collective Sacrifices Must Be Made

Article can be accessed at: http://www.bluejersey.com/2019/03/in-camden-collective-sacrifices-must-be-made/ 3/28/2019 The night following the Camden City School District’s monthly meeting, I found it enormously difficult to sleep – so much so, that at 3:42 am I am awake writing this Op/Ed. Comments made by the Acting State Superintendent Katrina McCombs regarding the fiscal Continue Reading…

Feb 25

An Open Letter to Donald Trump from the Camden Education Association…

Article also available at: http://www.bluejersey.com/2019/08/an-open-letter-to-donald-trump-from-the-camden-education-association/ To Donald Trump: As a force of 1100 public school educators consisting of guidance counselors, social workers, clerks, paraprofessionals, early childhood staff, attendance officers, security officers, and teachers comprising the Camden Education Association, I am writing this open letter to you to communicate our thorough Continue Reading…