Journal of a Black Teacher

By Don Allen, M. A. Ed./MAT      The Twin Cities public schools are supposed to be the foundation of education for our children, but unfortunately, they are committed to and incentivized to pursue mediocrity. This is a serious problem that needs immediate attention. One of the reasons why this is happening is because of leadership and funding. The schools are not getting enough money to provide quality education to students, and some in district leadership have dismissed talent for partisan politics.      As a result, teacher-eco systems are not motivated enough to put in extra effort, and students are not receiving the education they deserve; the data (Minnesota School Report Card) clearly shows the generational down spiraling.  Another reason is that there is no accountability for poor performance. Leadership and teachers who do not perform well are not held accountable, and there are no consequences for their actions. This leads to a culture of mediocrity where everyone settles for

By Don Allen, M.A. Ed./MAT Response to professor for 2022 Summer - GED 8101-1 - Human Relations in Organizations (Hamline University School of Education - Superintendent Licensure) Now that we know, now that our data is hanging out there for everyone to see and talk about (during and post-pandemic), what will propel our educational systems in the Twin Cities into systemic change? Malcolm X, MLK, Jr., John F. and Robert Kennedy, Gandhi, Desmond Tutu, and the late Ronald A. Edwards (a local civil rights activist that wrote the book, “The Minneapolis Story” parts 1 & 2, and died broke) were all individuals that pushed systems into change for the benefit of the whole. The unfortunate thing is each one of these men (and many women) lost their lives horribly by zealots that didn’t want change. I mean look at Buffalo, NY and Uvalde, TX; it’s not gun control we need, it’s people and society control which has been ineffective for generations. I’m not talking about the big brother piece, it&

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By Don Allen, M.A. Ed./MAT  “ As a matter of self-preservation, a man needs good friends or ardent enemies, for the former instruct him and the latter take him to task. ”   ~Diogenes Laertius, (c. 404—323 B.C.E.) Lives of Eminent Philosophers, Book 6, Chapter 35. He “Diogenes of Sinop, (Turkey)-School of Cynicism ”, is labeled mad for acting against convention, but Diogenes points out that it is the conventions which lack reason citing that most people, he would say, are so nearly mad that a finger makes all the difference. “For if you go along with your middle finger stretched out, someone will think you mad, but, if it’s the little finger, he will not think so” (Diogenes Laertius).  Logic and common sense scare many good natured foundational folks in education. When you look at challenges in our public educational system, it’s even more scary to see the actions of good natured people that have generationally ignored best practices outside of their own cultures and just simply put, b

  How can understanding the “continuum” be helpful to planning Culturally Responsive work with individuals within your organization? When I opened up chapter five to start reading, the pull-quote by Ellis Cose from his book, The Rage of a Privileged Class has me rethinking everything, and I cannot move past it; he wrote, “If we tell ourselves that the only problem is hate, we avoid facing the reality that it is mostly nice, non-hating people who perpetuate racial inequality”  (Cose 1998, p. 20). In my organization, as well as in the state of Minnesota, we know the ‘nice’ people are at the center of some of the most horrific, disabling, and learning-killing proposals and policies from the Minnesota Department of Education granting over $245 million to a non-existent agency for feeding children and families during the 202o COVID-19 quarantine, to its lack of diversity, inclusion, and color in the agencies upper leadership . These ‘nice’ people make sure the status quo is never disrupted

COMPETENCY ACTIVITY Form GED 8150: Initial Leadership Assessment Name : Don Allen Term : Spring 2022 Identify the area of your ICA where you identified a need to gain more exposure and growth through experiences, skill or knowledge development, or by opportunities for observation.  (Include both the competency area and the indicator/sub-competency or competencies. Policy and Law 1. Understand and implement policy to meet local, state, and federal requirements and constitutional provisions,standards, and regulatory applications to promote student success; 2 . Recognize and apply standards of care involving civil and criminal liability for negligence, harassment, and intentional torts; 3. Demonstrate an understanding of state, federal, and case law, and rules and regulations governing general education, special education, and community education. Fiscal Management 1. Demonstrate knowledge of factors that affect school finance, including sources of revenue; expenditure classificatio

Please view the ongoing Google Doc for important information about this plan/assignment - with updates. CLICK HERE

Mined by Don Allen, M.A. Ed./MAT   Introduction      When you have been intellectually abused you recognize it by the types of human biological functions that happen; sweaty hands, upset stomach, headaches, and anxiety levels too high it will trigger your reptilian brain into flight or fight mode. The assignment, this paper was to identify a problem at work and insert it into intercultural communication using the early chapters of our class text Communicating Across Cultures at Work (2017), and the later chapters to propose solutions; this is what I interpret to be the assignment. In reflection, to see a problem for what it is and the realness of the effects on team members, systems, and outcomes in efficacy leads me to ask “What can you do when teams inside Educational constructs don’t know what they don’t know?”        The first time I became aware of intercultural communication, which refers to the communication between people from two different cultures was when I was much younger

We must study humans as we would study other animals to discover what their “nature” is. Look among the species; see who are the thriving and successful and in what activities do they engage? For Aristotle, this is how to determine what is and is not appropriate for human and human societies .    ~ Aristotle - Rejection of Plato’s Rationalism Statement from Don Allen, M.A. Ed./MAT: Teacher and Servant Leader Please, everyone - cast a spell, wave your magic wands, pray, rub the chicken feet (I have mine, it’s a Jamaican thing), and hope teachers don’t strike. The results from a strike in this critical moment will disrupt all levels of society. The Twin Cities are not prepared to have thousands of K-12 scholars unstructured; yes, the achievement gap is alive and growing, but educators need this time between now and June to kill it. Parents must work; childcare is critical. We are just easing back in because of COVID-19, bad Wi-Fi hotspots, we have kids who are seniors that can’t get in