Journal of a Black Teacher

We are still waiting for a change that isn’t built on the corpse of another Black man. The evolution of our intellectual trauma continues.  The chart below is from Minnesota's Spotlight on Poverty https://spotlightonpoverty.org/states/minnesota/ By Don Allen, Journal of A Black Teacher (2025) The tragic murder of George Floyd under the knee of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin sparked global protests, forced America into a national reckoning on race, and ignited a multi-billion-dollar industry around social justice. But we must now, years later, ask a hard and perhaps uncomfortable question: Would Black society be any different if George Floyd had died of old age? The answer, while layered in nuance and painful truth, is not as clear-cut as the mainstream narrative would suggest. Since Floyd’s death in May 2020, hundreds more Black men across the country have been killed in encounters with law enforcement. According to Mapping Police Violence, over 1,000 people are ki...

For the fun of it, let's toss in a vertically aligned K-12 system.  By Don Allen - Journal of A Black Teacher (2025) In an increasingly interdependent and complex world, conventional education models might not be the best preparation for students to become global citizens and lifelong learners. Two models, Montessori and International Baccalaureate (IB), have become increasingly effective in creating independent thinkers, empathetic leaders, and deeply engaged learners. The merging of the two pedagogical approaches thus programs the promise of a learning experience that could be even more powerful than either on its own. IB and Montessori curricula can be deliberately used toward one aim: to support and deepen one another, creating an active and engaging child-led learning environment. Both models are inquiry-based and prioritize the holistic development of the child—intellectually, socially, emotionally, and ethically (International Baccalaureate Organization [IBO], 2017; Lillard,...