Dr. Emery PetchauerMembers of the academy offer insight into current events and higher education issues that impact people of color.OpinionPedagogical Entry Points to Arizona and Ethnic StudiesOver the past month, one of the most watched developments in the news for educators, academicians and progressive-minded folk was the banning of ethnic studies classes in Arizona. This action enacted by the state Legislature and approved by Gov. Jan Brewer and state school Superintendent Tom Horne means that classes focusing of the histories, experiences […]July 1, 2010OpinionFour Misconceptions About Hip-Hop Based EducationWhile some people find inspiration in unexpected places, I sometimes find it in uninformed and anti-intellectual ones. On account of that inspiration, here are four common misconceptions about the growing body of educational work referred to as hip-hop based education (HHBE): HHBE is about rap music. Hip-hop culture encompasses much more than rap music. […]May 11, 2010OpinionTranslating the Rules of the GameOver the so-called semester “break,” I cruised through two books that had been on my “to-read” list for a while: Gerald Graff’s Clueless in Academe: How Schooling Obscures the Life of the Mind (Yale University Press) and Rebecca D. Cox’s The College Fear Factor: How Students and Professors Misunderstand One Another (Harvard University Press). As […]January 24, 2010OpinionGetting Ready for the Praxis ExamIf your education students are a bit nervous or fidgety this week in class, here’s why: On Saturday, thousands of college students and pre-professionals across the United States will arise early in the morning — earlier than most college classes start — and trek to a nearby site to take the first battery of […]November 10, 2009OpinionWhat Educators Can Learn from President Obama’s Back to School SpeechWe now know that President Obama’s recent speech to America’s youngest citizens was not, as some feared, a 4-page/18-minute ideological conversion into “socialism.” In the words of comedian Steve Harvey, “Now that we done got that out the way,” we can turn to a bit more productive and realistic dialogue including what educators at all […]September 7, 2009OpinionUnderstanding the “Tools of Whiteness” (Notes from AERA, Part 2)A common figure in teacher education is that roughly 90 percent of public school teachers in the United States identify as White. As the percentage of ethnic minority students continues to rise, teacher training and professional development often include diversity training or a focus on multicultural education. Alternative routes into teaching such as Teach for America, […]June 13, 2009OpinionReframing the School Safety Debate (Notes from AERA, Part 1)Last month I participated in the 2009 American Educational Research Association (AERA) annual meeting along with thousands of other educational researchers. Each year the meeting is an incredibly stimulating time for me, especially since it comes late in the academic year. One element of the meeting that always stimulates my own intellectual work is hearing […]May 27, 2009OpinionThe Hip-Hop Archive and its TensionsLast month the Hip-Hop Archive at Harvard University’s W.E.B. Du Bois Institute co-hosted Hiphop Worldwide: More Than a Nation. This three-day conference focused on both the ongoing local expressions of hip-hop and their expansions into Cuba, Morocco, Japan, Tanzania, and other countries around the world. The gathering featured documentaries, lectures, and demonstrations from independent filmmakers, […]April 4, 2009OpinionArne Duncan on Tour and the Next Generation of EducatorsOne important area of concern that received little attention during this year’s monumental presidential election was education. Other than a brief nod during one debate — during which both candidates represented cursory and almost identical positions — education and the looming future of the No Child Left Behind Act was indeed left behind. Currently, understanding […]February 16, 2009OpinionHistory in Their Own WordsOn account of jury duty all last week, I was not able to be on campus at Lincoln the day after the election. I was looking forward to hearing about my students’ experiences of standing in line for hours upon hours, finally voting for the first time, celebrating wildly by climbing all over the Frederick […]November 24, 2008Previous PagePage 2 of 3Next Page