What to Expect
We are living in scary times. But hopelessness and despair are not options. Hope for the Best is a space to discuss ideas that might change our world for the better. My writing here is informed by my Jewish values including tikkun olam, and abolitionist organizer and educator Mariame Kaba’s call to practice “hope as a discipline.”
I have been writing primarily about teaching and learning since 2007. At the time, we were deep into the era of No Child Left Behind. I named my blog, “Is Our Children Learning?” in honor of an infamous quote from George W. Bush.
After 15 years, I’ve learned a lot as an educator and a writer. In this space I’ll try to balance two challenging tasks. I will describe the current state of the world as bluntly and honestly as possible. And I will offer practices that we can use to cultivate radical new possibilities.
A few thinkers who have profoundly influenced my understanding of education and social justice include Michelle Alexander, Dr. Jeffrey Duncan-Andrade, Dr. Lisa Delpit, Dr. Bettina Love, Mariame Kaba, and Megan Pamela Ruth Madison.
I hope to share my thoughts here 1 - 3 times a month. I will try my best to describe an education system I hope we can build, and not dwell solely on the failures of the system we must dismantle.
About Ruben
I have a masters from Fordham University in childhood education, as well as a masters in education policy and management from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
I believe that students learn best when they tackle real world problems and have a chance to present their learning in authentic and meaningful ways. One of my favorite units of study was a 3rd grade writing unit responding to the lack of racial diversity in Scholastic's Book Club catalogs. In another ELA unit, my 5th graders studied the history and present of systemic racism and then presented their research to an audience of educators and community members at the Museum of the City of New York's Teaching Social Activism Conference.
In 2016, I founded Teachable Moments, a live storytelling event featuring true classroom stories from current and former educators. Each event addresses a different theme such as "Beginnings," "Accidents Happen," and "Black Lives Matter."
My writing has been featured in BRIGHT Mag, Brooklyn Magazine, The Washington Post, and elsewhere. You can also find my writing on my personal blog, Medium, and The Educator’s Room.
