I’ve always believed in the importance of history and that the past has many crucial lessons to teach us. I also care deeply about ensuring that the curricula I teach reflects the diversity of our school and gives each student insights into the experiences of others.

In-person instruction has been a common source of stress during what I have dubbed “The Year of COVID,” with instructions on how to teach changing by the second.

“I went into teaching so that I could help children perform well on standardized testing,” said no teacher, ever.

I am a primary school teacher from East Oxford, and last year I crocheted a “mini-me” of each child in my class as an end-of-year gift.

I avidly recall a second grade class that would excitedly huddle around my rocking chair for story time. Students scrambled around sliding chairs to the carpet where I read heartwarming and sometimes zany tales, they reminded me that story time was counted among the most meaningful and cherished moments of a child’s day. Story time is a child’s portal into endless worlds, kingdoms, and dimensions.

Students need to be allowed outside more often, and beyond just the playground—especially in areas where schools are the only green space.

Teaching art history in an entirely online environment has brought a new set of challenges and opportunities that I’ve come to embrace with enthusiasm.

We may believe we are creating inclusive, “multicultural” teaching environments, all while being completely unaware of the systemic racism that still impacts our students.

There is a world out there for which we are preparing our children, and that world includes people who identify as LGBTQ+.