A Miami-Dade teacher packed her bags to haul complaints about Florida education standards overseas to the United Nations.
Renee O’Connor, nominated for Miami-Dade Public Schools Teacher of the Year in 2022, is on sabbatical. She taught African-American History elective and AP courses for 12 years. That changed this summer when she saw new guidelines for colleagues in middle schools to begin teaching students “How slaves developed skills in which some instances could be applied for their personal benefit.”
“It was that moment that was really the nail in the coffin for me,” O’Connor said. “I think when you’re in the classroom you have to worry about what your principal is going to say, what the district is going to feel about a teacher standing up for herself, for her students and for this really important class. Since I am not in the classroom (I) have opportunity to do things such as go to Geneva.”
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