Traditionally, schools use very concrete pedagogies and approaches to teaching children, but we see this more than ever in low-income communities due to their classification as high-need areas. Teachers are pressured to have their students meet certain achievement scores that directly affect their value as an effective educator. This pressure to achieve has taken art, poetry, creative writing, and exploration out of curriculum, which creates less equitable experiences that hinder students in these areas. What makes data valid? A number? Or an actual experience allowed to be expressed in a way other than words? Alyssa Dominique Nucaro believes that educators need to shift the way they think about how students accumulate knowledge as a first step to changing the education system. Alyssa Dominique Nucaro is a ten-year public school educator in Memphis, TN. She is a proud PhD candidate at the University of Memphis and a 2019 recipient of the New Memphis Educator of Excellence Award. Outside of her time in education, she is an author, researcher, and poet. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx