The White Rhino: A Blog about Education and Latino Issues

Archive for June 2013

How students read between the lines

Ending the school year is tough: students are tired, good teachers are exhausted. The start of our school year was rough; the end of it is rougher. So what’s a good teacher to do? I keep things moving by teaching students to read closely. After we read There Are No Children Here by Alex Kotlowitz, a... Read more »

By Ray Salazar, NBCT,
June 20, 2013 at 3:07 pm •

TribNation Conversation for Chicago Public Schools CEO too easy

I bought a ticket to the TribNation’s Chicago Forward conversation between the Tribune’s Editorial Page Editor Bruce Dold and Chicago Public Schools CEO Barbara Bryd-Bennett yesterday thinking, “This should be interesting.” The Chase Auditorium had lots of empty seats when I arrived minutes before it started. Many people greeted familiar faces. Most of the audience... Read more »

By Ray Salazar, NBCT,
June 19, 2013 at 12:39 am •

◄ Previous page Next page ►

Advertisement:
Advertisement:
Welcome to ChicagoNow.

Meet our bloggers,
post comments, or
pitch your blog idea.

Sign in Pitch your idea Play games
Tweets by @whiterhinoray
Facebook
Subscribe
About the Blogger

Since 1995, Ray has been a public school English teacher in Chicago.

In 2017, thanks to a former student, Ray received a Distinguished Secondary Teacher Award from Northwestern University.

In March 2013, The White Rhino tied for second place in the Best Blog category of the Education Writers Association's national writing contest.

Ray earned an M.A. in Writing, with distinction, and a B.A. in English and Secondary Education from DePaul University. He's been a National Board Certified Teacher for over ten years.

He graduated from a neighborhood Chicago public high school.

His writing aired on National Public Radio and Chicago Public Radio many times. His editorials appeared in the Chicago Tribune and on CNN's Schools of Thought blog, as well as on the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards' Web site. He's also written articles for NPR's Latino USA, Latino Rebels, and NewsTaco.

Ray is also a powerlifter and an aspiring guitarist.

For thirty years, Ray lived in Chicago's 26th Street neighborhood. Today, he lives a little more south and a little more west in the city with his wife, son, and daughter.

Photo credit: Rocky Jara: Rocky JPhoto on Facebook
The Blog’s Title

This comes from a conversation with another Latino English teacher when we met a few years ago. He said I was the only other Latino English teacher he knew: "We're white rhinos."
According to National Geographic, there are about 20,000 southern white rhinos struggling to survive in the wild.
The last male northern white rhino in the world died in March.
Like the animal, Latino English teachers exist in low numbers. And we know the low number of Latinos with college degrees in our city.
Therefore, I have a perspective that, like the white rhino, must fight to exist. The writing here includes my responses, reflections, reactions to Latino- and education-related issues.
Recent posts
- Chicago Public Schools student rejects cheating and develops a work ethic instead »
  
  Ray Salazar, NBCT on The White Rhino: A Blog about Education and Latino Issues
  
  Posted November 10, 2021 at 10:17 am
- Chicago Public Schools student reflects on the death and life changes of the pandemic and finds hope »
  
  Ray Salazar, NBCT on The White Rhino: A Blog about Education and Latino Issues
  
  Posted October 27, 2021 at 9:31 am
- Sandra Cisneros on Martita, I Remember You and on not speaking from anger »
  
  Ray Salazar, NBCT on The White Rhino: A Blog about Education and Latino Issues
  
  Posted September 7, 2021 at 6:43 am
- Why white journalists need to stop focusing on ‘learning loss’ »
  
  Ray Salazar, NBCT on The White Rhino: A Blog about Education and Latino Issues
  
  Posted August 2, 2021 at 11:26 am
- Something rises when your father dies »
  
  Ray Salazar, NBCT on The White Rhino: A Blog about Education and Latino Issues
  
  Posted July 3, 2021 at 12:00 am
Monthly Archives
- November 2021
- October 2021
- September 2021
- August 2021
- July 2021
- May 2021
- April 2021
- March 2021
- February 2021
- January 2021
- December 2020
- November 2020
- October 2020
- September 2020
- July 2020
- June 2020
- May 2020
- April 2020
- March 2020
- February 2020
- January 2020
- November 2019
- October 2019
- September 2019
- August 2019
- July 2019
- June 2019
- May 2019
- April 2019
- March 2019
- February 2019
- January 2019
- December 2018
- November 2018
- October 2018
- September 2018
- August 2018
- July 2018
- June 2018
- May 2018
- April 2018
- March 2018
- February 2018
- January 2018
- December 2017
- November 2017
- October 2017
- September 2017
- August 2017
- July 2017
- June 2017
- May 2017
- April 2017
- March 2017
- February 2017
- January 2017
- December 2016
- November 2016
- October 2016
- September 2016
- August 2016
- July 2016
- June 2016
- May 2016
- April 2016
- March 2016
- February 2016
- January 2016
- December 2015
- November 2015
- October 2015
- September 2015
- August 2015
- July 2015
- June 2015
- May 2015
- April 2015
- March 2015
- February 2015
- January 2015
- December 2014
- November 2014
- October 2014
- September 2014
- August 2014
- July 2014
- June 2014
- May 2014
- April 2014
- March 2014
- February 2014
- January 2014
- December 2013
- November 2013
- October 2013
- September 2013
- August 2013
- July 2013
- June 2013
- May 2013
- April 2013
- March 2013
- February 2013
- January 2013
- December 2012
- November 2012
- October 2012
- September 2012
- August 2012
- July 2012
- June 2012
- May 2012
- April 2012
- March 2012
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011

Latest on ChicagoNow
- The covid pandemic is OVER
  
  from The Barbershop: Dennis Byrne, Proprietor by Dennis Byrne
  posted today at 2:16 pm
- Simple Reminders for Safer Romance This Valentine's Day
  
  from All is Well by twin
  posted Friday at 8:40 pm
- Experts' Home Price Forecast Keeps Ratcheting Up
  
  from Getting Real by Gary Lucido
  posted Friday at 2:01 pm
- Tonga Volcano Eruption Seen From Space, NASA Scientists Weigh in on the Power of the Volcanic Blast
  
  from Cosmic Chicago by Michael Galindo
  posted Friday at 1:27 pm
- Your Place
  
  from Free Your Mind by Tiffany Grant
  posted Friday at 10:31 am
Posts from related blogs
- Cosmic Chicago
  
  Most recent post: Tonga Volcano Eruption Seen From Space, NASA Scientists Weigh in on the Power of the Volcanic Blast
- The Good Life
  
  Most recent post: How To Master GMAT Grammar And Ace The Sentence Correction Problems
- Mom, I Think I'm Poignant!
  
  Most recent post: The Chicago Reader recently celebrated its 50th annivesary--and some of those years were the best years of my life
More from News: City Life
Read these ChicagoNow blogs
- Cubs Den
  
  Chicago Cubs news and comprehensive blog, featuring old school baseball writing combined with the latest statistical trends
  - Last Raps
- Pets in need of homes
  
  Pets available for adoption in the Chicago area
  - Amelia - Hyde Park Cats
- Hammervision
  
  It's like the couch potato version of Mr. and Mrs. Smith.
  - Top 10 Movies of 2021
Read these ChicagoNow Bloggers
- Carole Kuhrt Brewer
  
  from Show Me Chicago:
  
  Stan’s Donuts to open in Mariano’s
- Dennis Byrne
  
  from The Barbershop: Dennis Byrne, Proprietor:
  
  The covid pandemic is OVER
- LeaGrover
  
  from Becoming SuperMommy:
  
  Too Much to Carry
Advertisement:

ChicagoNOW

©2022 CTMG - A Chicago Tribune website - Crafted by the News Apps team