Oh, hi! There's a lot of new folks here. When I shared what my students and I were doing this week around #Inauguration2021 with @NewsHourExtra for our learning, I had no idea how far and wide the lesson would go. All glory has to go to @TheAmandaGorman. 1/?

I’m a queer educator, married to the best wife ever, teaching alongside incredible educators here in Northern Colorado. Facts matter. Truth matters. Black Lives Matter. I’ve taught English 6-12, journalism/yearbook/publications, photography, advised GSAs and student leadership 2/

and had a hot minute of photojournalism/freelance photography. I instructionally coach, develop PD programs, and was privileged to collaborate & support teachers around the world through @TeachUNITED. I’ve been a hybrid & blended teacher for more than a decade. 3/?

I’m incredibly humbled that so many teachers found support in the lesson and resources. I’m excited we updated the lesson w/ more extensions & poetic connection, but especially connections to Black poets like Maya Angelou and Elizabeth Alexander (something I did w/ my Ss). 4/?

I tweet about working for me -- and not working -- in my classroom, care about how we’re decentering whiteness, decolonizing our education systems, run a gradeless classroom (for the past 5 years, and I’m never going back). 5/?

I’m gravely worried about the exploitation of teacher labor & silencing of marginalized educator & student voices. Most importantly, I'm learning. A lot. And I've learned a lot from these tremendous leaders (who you can learn from, too, in no particular order): 6/

@nenagerman @sheathescholar @juliaerin80 @AlexSVenet @ShawnaCoppola @chrisemdin @ClintSmithIII @biblio_phile @VictoriaTheTech @ShanaVWhite @Lyricalswordz @heymrsbond @MrTomRad @ValeriaBrownEdu @Jess5th @DisruptTexts #TeachLivingPoets #DisruptTexts 7/

I'll leave you w/ this. To my fellow white teachers: We have to use our privilege. We need to read more than just "White Fragility" (pick up "White Rage," "So You Want To Talk About Race," "Me and White Supremacy"). I'm still working through my book pile. You might be, too. 8/

Aside from listening to our colleagues of color, our queer colleagues (hi!), our neurodiverse colleagues (hi, again!), the best thing we can do is act. Bring in more inclusive writers, texts, and voices. Audit your syllabus and curriculum. Make shifts. 9/

We can and must do better. As @TheJLV always says, this is our moment. Thanks for coming to my TedTalk. 10/10