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Finish Well
As doors close for the summer, I want to talk about how to end a school year, how to finish well. We talk about how to start strong, how to manage classrooms, how to plan standards-aligned units. But what about the end? What do we do with all that we’ve lived and learned once the last bell rings? This meditation on that final stretch is a call not just to finish, but to finish well.
David Kirkland
Jun 247 min read


The Practice of Trust
The hardest part of equity work isn’t data analysis. It isn’t professional development. It isn’t political backlash. It’s trust—not just gaining it but deserving it.
David Kirkland
May 215 min read


Rethinking “Kindergarten Readiness”
Blaming 5-year-olds for not being “ready” is how broken systems excuse themselves. What if the real test isn’t whether our children are school-ready—but whether our schools are child-ready?
David Kirkland
Apr 217 min read


Curriculum as Covenant
We don’t have a curriculum problem—we have a trust problem. Teachers don’t teach what they’re told; they teach what they believe.
David Kirkland
Apr 147 min read


DEI: A Brief and Definitive History
Some want to “save” America from DEI—but if DEI were saving America? History suggests that it has.
David Kirkland
Apr 77 min read


Was DEI Worth It?
Before you walk away from DEI, you might want to know what actually worked—and how it can still work for you.
David Kirkland
Mar 117 min read


Who’s Teaching Our Kids? The Struggle for a More Diverse Teacher Workforce
Schools are meant to reflect the communities they serve, fostering opportunity and fairness for all students. But what happens when efforts
David Kirkland
Jan 136 min read


Why Black Men Don’t Teach
Why are Black men so rare in America’s classrooms? Because schools have long been places that taught them they didn’t belong—and now they ca
David Kirkland
Jan 86 min read


The Multilingual Child: Toward a Pedagogy of Linguistic Belonging
What if education stopped asking multilingual children to fit into a ready-made world and started building a world ready for them?
David Kirkland
Dec 10, 20247 min read


Who Gets In: The New Politics of College Admissions
The Supreme Court banned affirmative action, and universities claimed standardized tests would expand equity—why does it all feel like a lie
David Kirkland
Dec 2, 202410 min read


Equity Matters
Equity matters, and this perspectives article explains why and why we reaffirm our commitment to equity work.
David Kirkland
Nov 21, 20246 min read


Where Have Our Children Gone? Chronic Absenteeism and the Disappearance of Black, Latinx, and Economically Less Advantaged Students Post-COVID
In a system designed to educate, it's ironic that so many students are learning how to disappear.
David Kirkland
Sep 24, 20247 min read


Revisiting Race, School Integration, and the Future of Education
As we congratulate ourselves on 'progress,' this 5-year-old podcast reminds us real conversation on race never happened.
David Kirkland
Sep 16, 202427 min read


Can We Talk? A Critical Examination of Cellphone Bans in Schools
After relying on cellphones to save education during the pandemic, schools are now banning tools that could someday transform learning.
David Kirkland
Sep 9, 202410 min read


Courageous Confrontations: Why We Must Preserve DEI Work
The future of DEI must be one of continuous evolution, informed by the lessons of the past but unafraid to innovate for the future.
David Kirkland
Sep 2, 20248 min read


Reclaiming Possibility: An Intentional Focus on Black Boys This School Year
Let us enter this school year with a renewed commitment to our Black boys, knowing that by lifting them, we become titans, lifting our world
David Kirkland
Aug 26, 20248 min read


Strategies for a New Era of Reading Instruction
While the science of reading provides valuable insights, it must be integrated with a deep understanding of the social, emotional, and cultu
David Kirkland
Aug 19, 20247 min read


A Dignity-Driven Approach to Curriculum
In a dignity-driven curriculum, our children are given chances to see and be seen as they look into both mirrors and windows.
David Kirkland
Aug 12, 20247 min read


Project 2025 and Its Implications for Education Equity
As we face the challenges posed by Project 2025, it's crucial to remember the progress we have made and the work that still needs to be done
David Kirkland
Aug 5, 20246 min read


The Arc of Pedagogy
The pedagogical arc is a structured approach to education that emphasizes a beginning, middle, and end in lessons, units, and individual act
David Kirkland
Jul 29, 20244 min read
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