Building Community from Chaos
Over winter break, I read a book on teaching that left me feeling desolate because the writer’s vision of a joyful, productive classroom did not match the chaos I faced […]
Immigrants Under Attack
California Measure Would Deny Schooling, Healthcare
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California is a besieged state. One would only have to ask California’s governor, Pete Wilson, to confirm this. Wilson will tell you that California’s problems have little […]
Stop Scapegoating Immigrants
An editorial critiques California's referendum that would deny a public education to immigrants.
A nauseating stench pervades the anti-immigration referendum on the November ballot in California: the stench of racism. We realize that such blunt descriptions are generally avoided in U.S. political debate, […]
What Can Teachers Do About Sexual Harassment?
How one high school teacher and his class took on a sensitive but necessary discussion.
Theresa was the only girl in the metalworking class. When a teacher asked her how things were going with the boys, Theresa replied, “Oh, it’s much better. They don’t grab […]
Bias and CD-ROM Encyclopedias
How a 5th Grade Class Integrated Math and Social Studies to Analyze Bias
When our elementary school library got its CD-ROM last year, I hoped my fifth graders would use it for social studies research projects. Little did I know that it would […]
Playing Favorites
Gifted Education and the Disruption of Community
Why are there programs for “gifted” children? Why are some children labeled “gifted” but not others? And what does all this mean for the education of the “non-gifted”? In discussions […]
A Call to Education Unionists
Social Justice Unionism: A Working Draft
The following statement was issued by 29 teacher union activists following a threeday institute in Portland this August sponsored by the National Coalition of Education Activists. Because it makes an […]
Grumpy About Gump
Forrest Gump is a brilliantly crafted, finely acted movie that is witty, inventive, and stirring. It is also a movie that obscures, in a gauze of sentiment, a promotion of […]
