Resources on Evolution And Creationism
A collection of books, organizations and World Wide Web sites that offer information and guidance on dealing with creationism.
Test Restricted Content
Canadian Teachers Strike
Coverage of the issues that prompted 126,000 elementary and secondary school teachers to walk off the job in October and November 1997.
‘You Gotta Be Hard’
In this excerpt from his recently completed manuscript “Holler if You Hear Me”
Banned in Jersey, Welcomed on Broadway
When teacher Maria Sweeney’s 4th-grade class in Ridgewood, NJ wrote an original play about sweatshops that make products for Nike and Disney, school officials deemed it”inappropriate for children” and banned its performance at the school. Here’s how the students ended up bringing their play to a real Broadway theater for a glorious one-night stand instead.”
‘And Ya Don’t Stop’
How teachers can harness this powerful form of cultural communication.
Digging in the Crates
A selection of hip hop music and related resources suitable for classroom use.
‘Let Your Motto Be Resistance’
Hollywood has never let the real lessons of history get in the way of a good story, and Steven Spielberg’s film about the 1839 slave revolt is no exception. An examination of the true story of Amistad, and a reflection on the issue of “who owns history.”
What Happened to Local Control?
Excerpts from a speech by the Stanford University professor on what he terms “a lost opportunity in American education: the power of local control to link public schools more firmly to their communities.”
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Where I’m From
How students can be encouraged to share their personal lives in the classroom as part of a rich writing curriculum. Includes specific notes on teaching procedure.
Protests Target Sweatshop Labor
A look at protests around the country on sweatshop conditions and child labor.
A Must Buy and a Good Tale
Reviews of two books: “The New Press Guide to Multicultural Resources for Young Readers,” edited by Daphne Muse, and “Adopted by Indians: A True Story,” by Thomas Jefferson Mayfield.
California Referendum Mandates ‘English-Only’
The lead story in a Rethinking Schools report on the so-called “English for the Children” initiative slated to go before California voters on June 2, 1998, which would ban bilingual instruction and impose an English-only mandate on all classrooms. Includes a breakdown of the initiative’s key components and analysis of what its passage would mean for bilingual education and local control.
Number of Language-Minority Students Skyrockets
An analysis by the National Association of Bilingual Education details the tremendous growth of this population.
Embracing Ebonics and Teaching Standard English
This 31-year veteran of Oakland classrooms explains the effects of the Standard English Proficiency program, which recognizes the systematic, rule-governed nature of “Black English” while helping students learn Standard English, and how respect and cultural awareness can help teachers reach their students.
Literature from Children’s Roots
Why books written by African-American authors are important to children’s literacy development.
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Some ways that teachers can use this spirited book, which features several characters who speak in the rich and colorful dialect of the rural South
Teaching Teachers About Black Communications
How teachers can prepare themselves to help African-American students embrace Standard English as well as — not instead of — their own dialect.
Removing the Mask
An African-American teacher reflects on how to help children embrace Standard English without letting go of their own cultural identity, her own struggle to rebuild her self-image, and why this matters.
The Oakland Ebonics Resolution
The full text of the controversial resolution passed by the Oakland School Board on Dec. 18, 1996, including revisions made to the original version and a policy statement” by the board which accompanied the resolution.”
Recommendations of the Task Force on Educating African-American Students
The recommendations on cultural-linguistic literacy approved by the Oakland School Board on Jan. 21, 1997.
What is the Standard English Proficiency Program?
Explanations by the Oakland school district of this important program.
Oakland Superintendent Responds to Critics of the Ebonics Policy
A defense and explanation of the Oakland school district’s actions by the woman who was running the Oakland school district when the Ebonics furor erupted.
Linguistic Society of America’s Resolution on Ebonics
The text of a resolution passed by the society on Jan. 3, 1997, which concludes that the Oakland resolution was linguistically and pedagogically sound.”
Opening Pandora’s Box
An Interview with Oakland School Board member Toni Cook.
An Oakland Student Speaks Out
The testimony before Congress by the student member of the Oakland School Board.