Tag Archives: urban education

My Inner City Story: Practices That Work

We have talked about how teaching in the inner city has to be a passion, how teachers are better served by mentors rather than more in-service and staff development, and we’ve talked about the conditions that plague the inner city. Urban education is a unique set of circumstances and forces set in motion and without support teachers frankly can’t do the job that needs to be done. I am personally convinced after my experiences here that the inner city requires innovative solutions. I would even be so bold as to say that we need to throw out much of what … Continue reading →

My Inner City Story: Why Alternative Certification Programs Don’t Work

What would you do if you were the superintendent of schools, and one of your schools had less than half of the positions filled? Or if you looked over the entire city and saw that you were seriously short science teachers? You would likely do whatever it took to fill those spaces because whether or not you have the teachers–kids are coming to school in September. That’s exactly what inner cities have done. They come up with random criteria like high performance in another area of life. They offer incentives like a paid for Master’s in Education, a monetary bonus … Continue reading →

My Inner-City Story: 3 Types of Teachers

I have been living, tutoring, teaching and working with families in the inner city now for ten years. I have seen many teachers come and go. I have seen teachers come in to “rescue” the poor inner city children and I see teachers who feel like they can really make a difference. And they soon discover that they can’t–at least no with that attitude. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let me start with a disclaimer. I know that in one sense my inner city experience is unique. It’s unique even than other parts of New York. But there is … Continue reading →