Shorts 16.4

Classroom Resources

This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color, eds. Cherríe L. Moraga and Gloria E. Anzaldúa. (Berkeley: Third Woman Press, 2002). 370 pp. This is a re-issue of the classic collection of writings first published 20 years ago, with updated material.

War Times, (San Francisco: CEB/War Times). A free bilingual English/Spanish newspaper that is “dedicated to telling the truth about the ‘war on terrorism.'” Recent issues have covered Bush’s Nuclear Threat, Palestine, attacks on immigrants, and more. Very readable articles with background information. If you would like 25 copies (or more) of each issue, contact distribution@wartimes. org. For more information or for PDF files of most articles, visit www.war-times.org.

Policy Books

A School of Our Own, by Tom Roderick (New York: Teachers College Press, 2001). 178 pp. Roderick, now executive director of New York Educators for Social Responsibility, tells the story of how in 1965 a group of Puerto Rican “homemakers” created better schools for their children and built a community that enabled many adults to transform their lives. Rethinking Schools contributor Herb Kohl writes, “This powerful story of the generation of hope and of the power of a community to educate its young must be read by all people concerned with the future of our children.”

*Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal, by Eric Schlosser. (Perennial Books, 2002). $14, 383 pp. Here’s a startling piece of news: Americans spend more annually on fast food than on education. In Fast Food Nation, award-winning journalist Schlosser investigates the fast food industry; how it has created its own unique culture and its far-reaching effects. Teens in particular will benefit from learning the profound impact of the fast food industry on youth as workers and consumers.

Curriculum Books

Keeping the Struggle Alive, Studying Desegregation in Our Town: A Guide to Doing Oral History, eds. Bernadette Anand, Michelle Fine, Tiffany Perkins, and David S. Surrey, et al. (New York: Teachers College Press, 2002). 82 pp. Keeping the Struggle Alive tells the story of how students in a New Jersey public middle school learned the Civil Rights history of their community through an interdisciplinary project. It offers a curriculum guide for teaching oral history and shows teachers a model of involving young people in social action projects.

Videos

Uprooted: Refugees of the Global Economy, (The National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, 2001). 28 minutes, $20. How does globalization disrupt poor societies and create economic refugees? Uprooted tells the stories of three immigrants to the United States from Bolivia, Haiti and the Philippines, revealing the way in which global institutions like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund erode people’s capacity to survive in their home countries.

The Hidden Story: Confronting Colombia’s Dirty War, (KAIROS: Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives, 2001). 29 minutes, $25. This is a fine resource for prying behind the headlines about the “war on drugs.” The Hidden Story examines the underlying social roots of the conflicts in Colombia and how the United States camouflages its support for the rich by claiming that its Plan Colombia is eradicating drug production. Note that part of the video is directed at a Canadian audience.

*Books Not Bars, by Mark Landsman. (WITNESS Productions, 2001). 20 minutes, $50 (Individual price; institutions should contact www.witness.org). With a hiphop soundtrack, youth activists and formerly imprisoned teenagers discuss their views of the prison industrial complex, the growing incarceration rates of minors and people of color, and the decline in public investments in education. A great way to educate teens on prison issues.

*Just A Little Red Dot, by Mitra Sen. (Sandalwood Productions, 1996). 35 minutes, $69 for individual schools; school districts should order directly at films@sandalwoodproductions. com or 416-441- 0253. 35 min. Inspired by a true story, Mitra Sen’s film tells of a Canadian fifth grade class that creates an ingenious solution to peer discrimination when encountering a new Sri Lankan student who wears a red dot (bindi) on her forehead. In an effort to foster understanding, the teacher and students begin wearing a bindi dot in a show of solidarity.

Maps

*What’s Up? South! World Map. (ODT Inc., 2001). $20. 36″x56″ full size; shipped folded. Who says North is “up”? See the world from a different perspective; this fullcolor map flips the script, forcing the viewer to re-examine what’s on top and why.

* Resources with asterisks are available directly from NECA/Teaching for ChangeSubscribe Online