The White Rhino: A Blog about Education and Latino Issues
Chicago Public Schools teacher explains what matters during the pandemic

My Chicago Public Schools high-school teaching career began in my old neighborhood of Little Village over twenty years ago. I focused on one concept in my English classes: writing matters.
Students wrote about their lives and the social issues important to them. We put poems on the wall.
During the pandemic, however, my teaching focus changed from knowing what matters to asking, “What matters?”
Our students’ experiences matter. So, as teachers, we need to be open to learning about our students as people—on our students’ terms, not ours.
Listen to my brief commentary on WTTW’s Latino Voices, an off-shoot of Chicago Tonight. (It’s a YouTube link, so if you’re on CPS wifi, remember internetlogin dot com.)
[embedded content]
Follow me on Twitter @whiterhinoray.
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About the Blogger
Since 1995, Ray has been an English teacher in the Chicago Public Schools.
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 @RockyJPhotography on Instagram
The Blog’s Title
According to National Geographic, there are about 20,000 southern white rhinos struggling to survive in the wild.
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.
Like The White Rhino
Recent posts
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Chicago Public Schools teacher explains what matters during the pandemic »
Ray Salazar, NBCT on The White Rhino: A Blog about Education and Latino IssuesPosted today at 9:55 am -
Chicago Public Schools needs a remote-learning plan for all high-school students first quarter »
Ray Salazar, NBCT on The White Rhino: A Blog about Education and Latino IssuesPosted July 29, 2020 at 6:41 pm -
The eulogy for my father who looked beyond his circumstances and loved norteño music »
Ray Salazar, NBCT on The White Rhino: A Blog about Education and Latino IssuesPosted July 7, 2020 at 3:43 pm -
Latinx Chicago Public Schools valedictorian highlights what class of 2020 must ask itself »
Ray Salazar, NBCT on The White Rhino: A Blog about Education and Latino IssuesPosted June 15, 2020 at 12:57 pm -
When we find answers to old questions during the pandemic »
Ray Salazar, NBCT on The White Rhino: A Blog about Education and Latino IssuesPosted May 27, 2020 at 8:23 pm
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