From the Archives: Unwrapping the Holidays
A recent conversation in a Facebook group I’m a part of centered on the celebration of the holiday, specifically Christmas. The conversation started with this: “My school is very, very […]
Rethinking Schools
Taking Teacher Quality Seriously: A Collaborative Approach to Teacher Evaluation
Next spring, we will release the book, Pencils Down: Rethinking High-Stakes Testing and Accountability in Public Schools, edited by Wayne Au and Melissa Bollow Tempel. The following original essay by […]
Children’s Literature for the 99%
by Elizabeth Marshall Children’s literature is inherently political, whether it upholds social and economic inequality or resists it. For educators, the Occupy Wall Street movement offers an opportunity to think […]
From the Archives: “Rethinking Thanksgiving: Myths & Misgivings”
Teacher educator Vera Stenhouse wrote “Rethinking Thanksgiving: Myths and Misgivings” for us for our Fall 2009 issue of the magazine. It’s reprinted below with a new introduction from Vera. For […]
A Letter in Support of CTU President Karen Lewis
A few right wing bloggers have been highly critical of the talk that Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis gave at the Northwest Teaching for Social Justice conference, and they […]
No One Said Transforming Unions Was Easy
by Stephanie Walters It was the best of times. It was the worst of times. I think that’s how many people would describe life as a teacher union staffer these […]
Occupy the Curriculum
by Bill Bigelow The other day on the Zinn Education Project’s Facebook page, we asked “What period in history—or theme in history—are you teaching this month?” The responses were fascinating. […]
Saviors and Burnouts: Rethinking Teachers in Popular Culture
by Elizabeth Marshall From movies such as Blackboard Jungle and Freedom Writers to televisions shows like Degrassi: The Next Generation and The Wire, teachers and students are regular subjects of […]
A Celebration to Remember
by Kris Collett Last Saturday, Rethinking Schools friends and supporters from the Milwaukee area (and a few fine folks from Chicago) had a rollicking good time celebrating 25 years of […]
Challenging Corporate School Reform and 10 Hopeful Signs of Resistance
On Oct. 1, 650 people attended the 4th annual Northwest Teachers for Social Justice conference in Seattle. Rethinking Schools editor Stan Karp gave a well-received talk on “Challenging Corporate Ed […]
The new (and improved?) textbook Columbus
Exactly 20 years ago, Rethinking Schools published our first book, Rethinking Columbus. At that time, our editors hoped to help teachers engage students in a more critical, multicultural approach to […]
Still Neither Fair Nor Accurate
by Kris Collett President Obama and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan have another “reformy” idea. Surprised? No, me neither. Now, in addition to using high-stakes standardized test scores to evaluate […]
Educators, Activists Celebrate Zinn Education Project
On September 21—International Peace Day—Rethinking Schools editor Bill Bigelow attended and participated in the dedication of the Zinn Room at the brand new Busboys and Poets bookstore in Hyattsville, Md. […]
A Preview: “For or Against Children?”
by Adam Sanchez Although I had heard about Stand for Children from education activists in Portland for a few years now, I began researching them only after Stand for Children’s […]
Remembering Milton Meltzer: “The Role of Whites in Combatting Racism”
Milton Meltzer died two years ago today, and his work is worth revisiting. Rethinking Schools has reprinted his writings and recommended his books over the years. Here’s a piece he […]
Remembering—and Rethinking—9/11
by Bill Bigelow All of us who are old enough remember where we were on Sept. 11, 2001. I was in my office at home in Portland, Ore., upstairs, working […]
Teaching is an art.
by Linda Christensen I love the first days of school. I love putting the books back on the shelves, polishing the tables, stacking my bins of colored highlighters, sticky notes, […]
Change. Is it really good?
by Melissa Bollow Tempel As I think about the upcoming year, I can’t help but feel slightly pessimistic about change —heck highly pessimistic about change. Yes, I know that Obama […]