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Marguerite
Rucker

Marguerite Rucker is a mother, teacher and cheerleader. After 20 years of teaching, she currently teaches sixth grade. Her master’s degree is in educational leadership. She also opened a Performing Arts Academy with her best friend and trained several successful child actors and dancers who have appeared in TV shows and commercials. She is the proud mother of two high school children and the wife of a school psychologist.

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Articles by Marguerite

Pick Up the Phone

I decided not to leave a phone message. As my mind began racing through what I wanted to say in an email instead, I thought about my dual roles in school. As a teacher for more than 20 years, I have confidence that schools and teachers are there to help, support and build a relationship with parents. But as a parent, faced with having to speak to my child’s teacher, I froze.
Marguerite Rucker

Winning the Battle of Smart vs. Cool

My student was trying to act like he wasn’t smart. He told his parents that being smart meant not having cool friends. When test time came, he simply made random patterns with the bubbles on his standardized test, scoring one of the lowest scores in the sixth-grade class. The following year, he made a fresh start by earning one of the highest scores on the pretest. I knew I was in for a fight or, rather, a battle that would culminate with a full-on war to maintain. One I hoped to win.
Marguerite Rucker

Help Students Find Their ‘Power of One’

I see my cocoa brown hand grab the handle of the door. I take a deep breath. I already know what I will see and I am sure I will know what I feel. I step into the room and professionally scan the room so fast no one even knows I am doing it. It’s what I expect. I accept I am the “only one” with a tan that never goes away. I am the only African-American in the room.
Marguerite Rucker

It’s Time to Put Stereotype Threat to Rest

"She's just trying to act white." I remember those piercing but confusing words cutting me like a knife. I clinched my Super Reader certificate. My puzzled expression was taken as bravado by the African-American girls, who responded with a threatening question, "Do you want us to fix your face?"
Marguerite Rucker