Nefertari Yancie, Ph.D., teaches eighth grade social studies in Birmingham, Alabama. She received her doctorate from the University of Alabama at Birmingham in education studies in diverse populations. Her research focuses on developing students’ historical empathy skills as a way of understanding the past’s connection and relevance to the present.
When we teachers get a so-called “problem child” in class, it’s crucial to ask ourselves, “What is causing this behavior to manifest? What is occurring in this child’s life that we can’t see?”
At my elementary school in Guatemala last year, soccer fields, basketball courts and baseball diamonds were dominated by boys and a handful of brave, tough girls.