Hello everyone! Today, we are tackling some big and important topics. We are discussing the lives of our students, the importance of having a curriculum that shows that black lives matter, and asking, what we can do as educators to support black lives in the classroom. To have this discussion, I have brought on an educator who is relatively new in my world, but is quickly becoming one of my top voices I listen to. Dr. Manuel Rustin is a veteran educator currently in his sixteenth year of teaching high school social science in California. A proud believer in the promise of public education, Dr. Rustin has spent all sixteen years of his career teaching marginalized populations in underserved public high schools. He currently teaches United States History, American Government, Economics, and a Hip Hop Studies course that he developed in 2012. Teach Me, Teacher has never shied away from big topics, because I believe they are important to have and to listen to. If we want to improve our world, we must listen, discuss, and most importantly, act on the change we say we want. This is an episode filled with ideas, hope, and needed perspective for ALL educators. You are sure to walk away with ideas you can use today to make meaningful change in you classroom.     This episode is sponsored by Heinemann—the leading publisher of professional books and resources for educators—and their new book Connecting with Students Online by Jennifer Serravallo. This book’s been getting a lot of buzz because finally someone is getting down to the nitty gritty details of effective online teaching during an unprecedented crisis. Jen Serravallo keeps the focus on what teachers do best: build relationships with students that drive learning and progress. And she shows how to do it remotely. She offers 55 streamlined instructional strategies we can use right away. Everything from conferring to small groups to communicating with a child’s parents or caregivers. Like everything Jen writes, Connecting with Students Online is accessible and respectful of teacher’s time. It’s filled with ready-to-use suggestions, and you don’t need a school technologist to implement them. You’ll find something here to help everyone in your classroom grow, even if you can’t be with them in person. Best of all, Jen will donate a portion of the proceeds from this book to organizations that help children directly impacted by COVID-19.  If you don’t have Jennifer Serravallo’s Connecting with Students Online, head over to Heinemann.com to read a sample chapter and find out what you’re missing. Or order yourself a copy.  You’ll help yourself, your kids, and children struggling because of this this pandemic.