Koonlaba: 5 Game-Changers Every Mississippi Educator Should Follow

11164757_10206497932583916_3464456028614437679_nI just read a post from the Center for Teaching Quality titled Five Thinkers Every New Teacher Should Follow. I agree the five thinkers listed in this post by Bill Ferriter are worth following. I especially recommend following Jon Spencer from that list.

This made me think about compiling my own list of people and groups to follow. I decided it would be most effective for Mississippians, if I identified education game-changers specific to Mississippi.

Shannon Eubanks is a principal at Enterprise Attendance Center in Brookhaven. He has a keen understanding of how Mississippi politics impact education. He tweets news and views related to educational policy and theory. He also posts a lot about how outside factors, such as poverty, impact education.

James Comans teaches in DeSoto, MS, and is a contributor to the Mississippi Education Blog. However, he hosts his own blog called Comansense. He writes about education, making his views known in a witty and entertaining way. Remember when Initiative 42 was the talk of the town? One of my favorite Initiative 42 posts was his A Herb Frierson-Inspired Guide to 42. Its still funny, and is a great example of how he can make such a serious issue fun and entertaining. Comans also writes about science education and other general topics.

Renee Moore is a community college and high school English teacher in the Delta. She is a member of the EduColor movement. She blogs for the Center for Teaching Quality with a great understanding of the struggle Mississippi faces moving out of the 50th spot in education.  One of her best pieces was posted by Show and Tell MS where she described how she and her colleagues had to dumpster-dive to get textbooks for her students. She also tweets. 

Jack Linton posts each Monday unless he deems something so important it requires a more immediate post. He is a retired administrator who analyzes state education policies and politics. He offers incites into educational matters. His blog, I Don’t Mean to Offend But (Maybe you should think about this), is quickly becoming one of my favorites.

Mississippi BATs is the Mississippi affiliate of the national Badass Teachers Association (BATs). The BATs have a strong presence on Twitter. Their mission is to “give voice to every teacher who refuses to be blamed for the failure of our society to erase poverty and inequality through education.” The Mississippi BATs do a great job of sharing information on Twitter that is pertinent to Mississippians from the national level. In addition, the national BATs host a blog that frequently shares information about Mississippi’s educational matters. Any concerned citizen is welcome to become a BAT. It is not just for teachers.

I will continue to post Mississippi’s education game-changers as I become familiar with them. In the meantime, you can also follow me on Twitter.

Amanda Koonlaba is an elementary art teacher in Tupelo, MS. She is a contributor to MSEdBlog. Her views are her own and do not represent the views of any other entity.

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