Shawnta S. Barnes

Shawnta (Shawn-tay) S. Barnes, also known as Educator Barnes, is a married mother of identical twin boys. She navigates education from not only the educator’s perspective but also the parent’s perspective. She has been an educator for nearly two decades. Shawnta works with K-12 schools, universities, & education adjacent organizations through her education consulting business Blazing Brilliance. She is an adjunct college professor, supervises student teachers, Indy Kids Winning Editor-in-Chief, Brave Brothers Books Co-founder, & CEO, and Brazen Education Podcast host. She holds five education licenses: English/language arts 5-12, English to speakers of other languages P-12, library/media P-12, reading P-12, and school administration P-12, and she has held a job in every licensed area. Previously, she has served as a school administrator, English teacher, English learners teacher, literacy coach, and librarian. She won the 2019 Indiana Black Expo Excellence in Education Journalism Award. In 2023, she completed her doctorate in Literacy, Culture, and Language Education with a minor in Learning Sciences. She is an urban gardener in her spare time and writes about her harvest-to-table journey at gardenershicole.com. To learn more about Shawnta, visit educatorbarnes.com.

Posts By Shawnta S. Barnes

Learning

My Children Fell Behind During the Pandemic. What Can I Do?

Hey Shawnta! My children fell behind during the pandemic and I don't see our school helping them catch up. I don't have money for private tutoring. What can I do? Sincerely, Panicked Pandemic Parent...

Hey Shawnta! My Principal Started the Year by Showing Us Student Data From Last Year. We Were Told to 'Do Better,' but Weren't Given Real Strategies. What Do I Do Now?

Hey Shawnta! My principal started the year by showing us student data from last year. It was bad. All we were told was 'do better.' No real strategies, just a lot of teacher bashing. What do I do...

Teaching

Hey Shawnta! How Do I Build a Relationship With My Child’s Teacher When We Only Connect Through Remind?

When my sons were in elementary school, we received communication in various ways. We received it through the folder in my sons’ backpacks, email, phone calls, Class Dojo, Bloomz, and via Smore...

activism

This Teacher Instructed Students to Draw Black People Picking Cotton During Black History Month

I attended Mary Evelyn Castle Elementary School, Craig Middle School, and graduated from Lawrence North High School (Go Wildcats!). These are all schools in the Metropolitan School District of...

Indigenous Peoples

Teachers, Any Lesson About Thanksgiving Should Include Native American Perspectives

It is that time of year again. It is time for some teachers somewhere to completely botch incorporating Thanksgiving and Native Americans into the curriculum. However, this does not need to occur....

activism

How to Move Beyond Land Acknowledgements on Indigenous Peoples Day

Columbus Day should have never been a holiday. This is a concept that some people struggle with because of some warped sense of belief in Manifest Destiny, a belief that colonization was inevitable...