As Neal A. Lester reminds us in “ Straight Talk About the N-word,” the term is one of the most loaded words in the English language. Is there ever a place for the n-word?
Grades: 9-12 Subjects: Social Studies, Reading and Language Arts Categories: History As this Teaching Tolerance story tells us, it’s important to study history—in particular first-hand documents—so that we can continue
Grades: 5-8 Subjects: Science and Health Categories: Diversity and inclusion; Disability The “new PE” emphasizes personalized fitness programs and cooperative rather than competitive games. How could this work in your
The year I taught art in the dysfunctional chaos of an overcrowded urban middle school with weak administrators, practically everyone in the school—both students and teachers—needed a "safe place."
Jan S. Gephardt is an artist, writer and teacher. She holds a degree in art with a minor in journalism and a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction with a multicultural education emphasis. She has taught art, graphic design, journalism and publications on the secondary level, and design on the college level. Her students have been recipients of regional, national, and international awards. She continues to write, lecture and teach privately, in addition to making paper sculpture artwork.
A couple of months ago, a student pulled me aside to ask for help with a job application. As a teacher working with adult immigrants and refugees, I hear this request fairly often. After class, we discussed the job she wanted –housekeeping for one of the large hotel chains in the area. Paper applications were no longer accepted.
As I head back to the classroom, I think about the last school year. In the second-to-last week of school, my fifth-grade classroom was 90 degrees, with no air conditioning. My students were sitting together, helping each other, laughing, struggling and having fun. At the beginning of the year, they were unsure of each other. They smiled politely but kept to themselves or the friends they knew and never asked for help. So what had changed?