By Michael A. Johnson
There’s a reason why the book "The Emperor's New Clothes" ended up in a lot of US elementary school’s classroom libraries over the years. I know it taught this 1960’s Brooklyn P.S. 9 kid the importance of acknowledging “a thing for...
By Michael A. Johnson
As a principal, I’ve met teachers I wouldn’t want anywhere near my kids, and then there were many great and wonderful teachers who I’d hire 100 times over, regardless of that teacher’s race or nationality. Black students can’t wait for America...
By Michael A. Johnson
Let’s face it, many Americans applaud and reward cheaters and liars. My wonderful 1950-60’s teachers at Brooklyn’s P.S. 9 elementary school told us that if we were honest, well-behaved, decent and studied hard that we could grow up to be...
One could imagine NYC’s Black and Latino elected, appointed, civic and religious leaders on hearing this news would be U-hauling the “no mas confidence” guillotines over to City Hall. After all, the children most hurt by this debacle look a lot like them! Well,...
I dream of a world where the poor, and often really innocent, Black incarcerated men and women could get $500.00/hour attorneys. And that these same people would not be forced to live under inhumane conditions or, as in the case of Kalief Browder, be...
Recently there was another of those interesting Facebook ‘challenges’ titled: “How Hard Did Aging Hit You?” (Give those creative Facebook algorithmicteers credit for their ability to keep coming up with ideas to get eyeballs to platform!) For my discriminating eyeballs, I always preferred the...
On Education
Think of it as a simple arithmetic problem: Student W receives 12 months of cultural affirmation, racial acknowledgement and privileged recognition. Student B receives 12 months of cultural disregard, racial denigration & ethnic repudiation and then one month of an often badly planned...
Part 2: The real history behind the NYC Specialized High School (SHS) ‘Integration Problem’ and how it could be fixed, if fixing it is really the objective…
“How many effective schools would you have to see to be persuaded of the educability of poor children?...
By Michael Johnson
Part 1- The Real Problem: What is to be done with all of those K-12 Black and Latino students who are on and/or above learning- and grade-level standards?
“Change the Joke and Slip the Yoke.” ---Ralph Ellison
“You get in life what you...
Schools, and particularly their Tone, Climate and Culture-setting principals, fail too often to come up with the necessary strategic, operational, visionary tactics to make their schools secure and safe environments. They don’t have a “prevent plan” to help get their kids to act and...
By Michael Johnson
Pardon me for mentioning McKenzie’s name so often in this column. But I think it is important that we speak and write McKenzie’s name as much as possible, in part, because the label “victim,” even when preceded by the word “tragic,” robs...
Let the classic corporate investment, societal benefits versus injury debate begin! The Amazon Corporation proposes to divide its new second headquarters (“HQ2”) between two cities, New York City and Crystal City, VA. And according to a report in Our Time Press, the “every area...
PART TWO:
Choose Strategically-Sound over Sexy-Sounding Plans to Help Struggling Schools Succeed
“There has never been a time in the life of the American public school when we have not known all that we needed in order to teach all those whom we choose to teach.”—Ronald...
By Michael A. Johnson
A Brooklyn, NY white woman dubbed “Cornerstore Caroline” calls the police on a Black child she falsely accused of sexually assaulting her. When, in fact, according to the store’s surveillance video, his backpack, unbeknownst to the child, “accidentally” brushed up against...
The principal must rule and play their role properly:
Rule #1: Think (before you act) about who you are, your role and responsibilities in the present situation.
As the school principal, you must also be its principled ethical and moral leader. Therefore, your first priority is...
Many people are familiar with the more physically aggressive and verbally threating forms of bullying that can take place far too often in our schools. But other less-easily-identifiable forms of bullying, including a “social media” type, can produce very severe and painful emotional scars...
As you read this summary of: The Civil Rights Project Study on School Segregation; resist the urge of your brain wanting to replace: “New York” with words like “Alabama, Mississippi or Louisiana”.
“New York has the most segregated schools in the country. In 2009, Black...
Organization! All students need a quiet and consistent time and place for doing evening-weekend-school brake, homework and study. To be clear, Homework is the work given by the teacher to reinforce the classwork, and Studying is gaining clarity, and a deeper and more...
A new bill could throw a lifeline to large numbers of underrecognized and underserved NYC students. It requires the NYC Department of Education to create more Gifted and Talented (G&T) programs and classes and New York parents need to contact their state senators right...
“Michigan judge rules kids don't have a fundamental right to literacy”
“Some folks,” as one Brooklyn NY elder once told the teenage me, “are focusing on the ice cubes in the glass, even as they are melting!” If parents are waiting on a judge...
