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Author: Marlena Little

Kids Just Wanna Learn

Posted on August 20, 2018September 13, 2018 by Marlena Little

It has been almost 10 years since I became a teacher.  I didn’t have many expectations when I began. All I knew was that I wanted to provide the tools students needed to change their life because education had done just that for me.

A poor black girl from inner-city Chicago, I was bused to a gifted center from 3rd grade to 8th grade, where I was one of seven black kids in the entire grade. It was there I learned what I needed to excel, not just in the classroom but in life. Even though we were in a gifted school with students from all over Chicago, we still took the state tests. I recall those being the worst days of the school year.

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Dear White Teachers

Posted on August 1, 2018September 13, 2018 by Marlena Little

It’s true that our perceptions are a collection of experiences lived through our concepts of reality.  What we “see” can vary from person to person, even in the same family. Perception is the reason why two siblings can have the same parents but have very different experiences. Perceptions are also the lenses in which we see others and how we treat them. Saying that, I wrote a short letter to white teachers who work in “the hood”.

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Black with Kids – It’s NOT Magic

Posted on July 11, 2018September 13, 2018 by Marlena Little

Being a mother of a Black pre-teen is more than a notion. In wanting to validate the greatness within my daughter, and even in others, I have often said the phrase “Black Girl Magic.”

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This Is (Permit Patty’s) America

Posted on June 27, 2018 by Marlena Little

I’m tired of people throwing stones and then hiding their hands. Especially white people.

Yep, I said it!

BBQ Becky. Rosanne Barr and now Permit Patty.

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All Summer ‘18

Posted on June 25, 2018 by Marlena Little

Honestly, education wasn’t my first career.

It was 2007 and I was 7 months pregnant with my now 10-year old daughter. Hustling, walking and grinding as a realtor didn’t seem appealing anymore, especially with an infant. I wondered, “What could I do to have summers off with my daughter as she grew up?”

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Being Black with Kids – The Fight

Posted on June 20, 2018 by Marlena Little

“Why are your hands two different colors? It’s white on the inside and black on the outside?” There are certain things that happen in one’s life that remain colorfully vivid, even 25+ years later. I’ll never forget that day. I was in 3rd grade, sitting at the lunch table when my classmate asked me those…

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“What do I do?”

Posted on June 18, 2018 by Marlena Little

I am a first-generation college student and sole college graduate in my family. In 2018, it seems like we shouldn’t still have “Firsts,” but that’s another blog for another time. As an educator, I’m very open with my students and others about my journey. There were times I had to complete my homework outside because…

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Equity in Funding?

Posted on June 11, 2018 by Marlena Little

In the quest for equity in education, some school districts, including Shelby County, will be adopting student-based budgeting for the 2018-2019 school year.  Here is what you need to know about what these changes are and how it seeks to even the playing field for students with the most need. 1.       The district will not…

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A New Sheriff in Town!

Posted on April 26, 2018 by Marlena Little

A few weeks ago, I appealed to the powers that be in charge of electing the next leader of the Achievement School District to have a few things in mind during the process of their selection. I’ve heard of “ask and it shall be given”- and most times those things I desire manifest. Never thought…

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Tennessee NOT Ready, Again!

Posted on April 20, 2018 by Marlena Little

I’ve sat each day since Monday wanting to write and each day, something else changes that compounds my feelings and thoughts as both a parent and educator. Each day, I have placed hope in a system that consistently fails me. I feel like I’m a devout Christian, living out the WWJD? mantra in a loveless…

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