Dr. Stuart Rhoden

08/04/2026

The best educators don't simply teach content. They help students imagine a future they couldn't yet see for themselves.

This week's essay explores what Cultural Trust looks like in practice.

Part of the Cultural Trust Series

06/27/2026

A student who never misses a deadline. Strong GPA. She’s “fine” by every metric. She’s not fine, and neither is her teacher. My latest is about what trauma does to growth, and the grief so many of us carry into the classroom while holding space for everyone else’s.

This one is personal. Part 1 up now. As always, thanks for your support!

Part of the Cultural Trust Series

06/14/2026

05/26/2026

Second piece in summer series in Cultural Trust. We spend a lot of time talking about what’s “wrong” with students and not enough time asking why.
Please read, respond and share widely!! Thanks for your support.

Scroll through any education-focused social media feed long enough and you will find them.

05/01/2026

There are many folks who are smart, but we folks are built different. We have to navigate so many intersectional lanes to thrive and survive the city.

As we grow older it becomes normal for us to be in spaces where we’re not normally seen. Kudos to Lupe Fiasco for kicking and pushing down doors, barriers and biases.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DXvUsQFNs2V/?

04/28/2026

❤️ “Critics” pretend that we should just shut up and teach. You can’t teach someone who’s not open and trusting of who you are and what you’re about.

Be about academics, but also be about human beings. Trust is crucial. She trusted him enough to finally break down and break through.

03/24/2026

I’ve got something to say. That’s how I started my first Substack, and since then I’ve written about what it costs to be a Black father raising children in predominantly White spaces, about school closings and what communities lose when institutions treat buildings as budget lines, about Pride in Chicago and Transgender Day of Remembrance and why bearing witness is not optional for those of us who care about others and teach the full range of humanity. This post is about all of it. And none of it. It’s about what runs underneath.

Please read and share widely! And as always, thanks for your support! ❤️

https://open.substack.com/pub/stuartrhoden/p/your-environment-made-you-and-its?

From the South Side of Chicago to Phoenix. What Dewey, Tupac, and my mother taught me before I had a name for it.

03/01/2026

I recently updated my website to reflect my work on institutional trust, cultural trust, and academic recovery in education.

It’s been a meaningful return to writing, presenting, and learning. I am forever grateful for the conversations, mentorship, encouragement (both gentle and direct), and the many villages and communities that continue to uplift me and this work.

Check it out:

​ Dr. Stuart Rhoden's a reas of focus include: Social-Emotional Pedagogy Social Justice Issues Anti- Bias Awareness Culture and Diversity Acceptance Critical Mindfulness and Trust Dr. Stuart...