"According to philosopher Myisha Cherry, anger does not deserve its bad reputation. It is powerful, but its power can be a force for good. And not only is it something we don’t have to discourage, it’s something we ought to cultivate actively. People fear anger because they paint it in broad strokes, but we can’t dismiss all anger, especially not now. There is a form of anger that in fact is crucial in the anti-racist struggle today. This anti-racist anger, what Cherry calls “Lordean rage,” can use its mighty force to challenge racism: it aims for change, motivates productive action, builds resistance, and is informed by an inclusive and liberating perspective. People can, and should, harness Lordean rage and tap into its unique anti-racist potential. We should not suppress it or seek to replace it with friendly emotions. If we want to effect change, and take down racist structures and systems, we must manage it in the sense of cultivating it, and keeping it focused and strong." Dr. Myisha Cherry's book - The Case for Rage - is helping me develop a more complex understanding of my anger, and we used a quote from Dr. Cherry in this week's circle (see below). 

Anyone who is a teacher has had this experience: we spent a lot of time writing feedback to students, and then, we watched students glance at it and shove it into their bag. In this easy-to-read research report called "Feedback in practice: research for teachers," the authors explain how to give feedback that students actually use and learn from. It includes the examples in the image above of how to phrase feedback so that it isn't evaluation, advice, or praise. It also includes an explanation of the big ideas of how to engage students in learning from feedback: 

1. Students must engage with feedback in order to learn from it. 
2. Identity and relationships matter in feedback.
3. Give focused feedback on specific instructional goals. 
4. Teachers should separate feedback from grading. 

Many of us enjoy observing classes and talking with teachers - but I hear from evaluators all the time that they don’t enjoy writing up the feedback and often put it off and aren’t sure how to do it well. I also see too many evaluators writing up feedback that is unclear and confusing. So in this 7-minute video, I share a simple and easy acronym for writing up observation feedback, which will help you ensure that your feedback is clear and helpful. I know this will make the process faster and easier for you so you can stay focused on what matters more - observing classes and talking with teachers! The deadline for our first observations in Boston is November 15th, so check out this video on how to schedule observations quickly if you haven't done these yet!