This is How Gratitude in a Broken World Looks

This is How Gratitude in a Broken World Looks by @andrewdkaufman #gratitude #life #gunviolence

  Tragedy Strikes A few weeks ago, on Monday, November 14, I woke up to the news that three students at the University of Virginia, where I teach–Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis Jr., and D’Sean Perry–had been murdered and two others wounded the night before by another UVa student who opened fire inside a charter bus…

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What Are We Really Teaching Our Kids?

What Are We Really Teaching Our Kids? by @andrewdkaufman #teaching #learning #COVID

I published this article in Inside Higher Ed in September 2020. Even though it addresses the crisis in education brought about by both COVID and the George Floyd tragedy, its message seems highly relevant to our current climate, as well: What or why to teach are more important considerations than how to teach if we are to…

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How to Have Radical Hope in Troubled Times

How to Have Radical Hope in Troubled Times by @andrewdkaufman #hope #trouble #life

  Hope In The Sadness A few weeks ago it was a beautiful Monday in Northern Virginia, where I celebrated the Fourth of July with my family. I felt good about life and at peace with the world, a rarity for me these days. Late in the afternoon, a headline popped up on my phone…

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As Educators, What Can We Learn from the Attack on the Capitol?

As Educators, What Can We Learn from the Attack on the Capitol? by @AndrewDKaufman #Capitol #politics #Constitution #educators

A week after protesters stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6, the pictures are still hard to fathom. While peaceful demonstrations are rightfully a part of life in Washington, this incident is unlike anything we’ve seen in two centuries. The Senate chamber was breached by people wearing combat gear and carrying zip ties. A Confederate…

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Students Don’t Need You to be a Perfect Teacher Right Now

Students Don't Need You to be a Perfect Teacher Right Now by @andrewdkaufman #students #teacher #COVID19

In early March, my university administration informed me that I had a week to transition my University of Virginia course Books Behind Bars online. This is a class I’ve been teaching for the past decade, where UVA students meet regularly with incarcerated youth at Bon Air Juvenile Correctional Center in Richmond, Virginia to explore questions…

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How Great Students Can Change a Teacher’s Life

How Great Students Can Change a Teacher’s Life by @andrewdkaufman #students #life #teacher

We’ve all heard stories about great teachers who have changed students’ lives. Far less common are stories from teachers about students who have changed their lives, yet anybody in the teaching profession knows that learning is a reciprocal activity that can have a profound impact on both members of the exchange.  Just as there are…

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I Have a Dream (of a Different Kind of Classroom)

I Have a Dream (of a Different Kind of Classroom) by @andrewdkaufman #dream #classroom #teaching

Since the day that Martin Luther King Jr. gave his iconic speech nearly six decades ago in 1963, he has inspired thousands, if not millions, of people to dream bigger. Whether that means standing up against social injustices, volunteering in our community, or contributing to education reform, many of us have been inspired to leave…

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