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2926 ARTICLES

September 17, 2012

Identifying Ways to Let Your Students Shine

What would it look like if schools offered every child daily opportunities to do something in which they excel? What if, instead of just celebrating academic successes, we highlighted the unique talents and joys of all our students?

Topic

Race & Ethnicity

September 14, 2012

iPad Project Seeks to Level Educational Field

This year our school district launched an iPad initiative for the kindergarten teachers and students at our Title I elementary school.

Topic

Class

September 13, 2012

Intolerance Crumbled After Meeting a Family

A family of four came to speak to my high school juniors and seniors. Two dads and their 16-year-old daughter and 17-year-old son talked about their family, the adoption process and their experiences with discrimination and prejudice.

Topic

Gender & Sexual Identity Bullying & Bias

September 12, 2012

Students Need Tools to Create an Inclusive Climate

Jenny started the year desperate to make friends. She was new, immature for her age and starting seventh grade. Because of a learning disability, Jenny was reading and writing at a second-grade level. She tried to hide that from friends. But in the cover-up effort, she often badmouthed her classmates and created drama.

Topic

Ability Bullying & Bias

September 6, 2012

Affirming Many Variations of Family

When I was growing up, most of my friends’ families had a mom and a dad. A few parents were divorced and that meant stepdads and stepmoms were also in the picture. That was about the extent of family diversity in my experience. During my teaching credential program, I learned about children having two moms or two dads. I made a mental note to remember this. I have discovered that family configurations are limitless and I now work to be inclusive, aware and respectful.

Topic

Gender & Sexual Identity

September 5, 2012

Political Discussion Belongs in Our Classroom

I was excited by my lesson plan about the presidential elections. I planned to help students research issues and form opinions by guiding them through a variety of perspectives. Then my student teacher asked a question that surprised me. “Do you ever have parents complain about elections being discussed in school?” he wanted to know. “Why would they?” I asked.

Topic

Rights & Activism

September 4, 2012

Breaking Down Stereotypes

As new generations come along, we hope the old beliefs mired in hate and separation will die out. The lines that once separated us continue to fade. We have evidence. Our society is more accepting now than it was decades ago of multiracial relationships, multiracial families and multiracial children. Blogger Pamela Cytrynbaum says the new generation is “rejecting the color lines” that once constrained them. The New York Times writer Susan Saulny poignantly describes the younger generation as having a “more fluid sense of identity.”

Topic

Race & Ethnicity

August 31, 2012

Eagle Scouts Honor Integrity Through Protest

In the years since they graduated from middle school, several of my former students earned the prestigious rank of Eagle Scout. I was proud of them. I read their stories in the local paper and was inspired by the various ways in which these young men improved our community. Each time, their accomplishments and selflessness impressed me. Earning the highest rank in Boy Scouts of America is an admirable achievement.

Topic

Gender & Sexual Identity Rights & Activism

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