Current events

Racisim, Xenophobia, and the Election

By the Editors of Rethinking Schools As teachers and students return to classrooms this fall, together we have to try to make sense of a tumultuous presidential campaign and a summer […]

Making Climate Change Part of the School Curriculum

By Katy Farber Originally published at momscleanairforce.org. It can be a confusing time to be a kid. People on the TV, internet, and radio say conflicting things — about climate change — with seriousness […]

The Roots of Racist Violence in Milwaukee

Editor’s note: Milwaukee is the latest city to erupt as a result of the police shooting of a Black man. As in Ferguson and Baltimore, the outrage in Milwaukee last […]

Readying Students for the Conflagration

By Brian Gibbs and Holly Gibbs When the LA Times reported that there was negative backlash from the Portland School Board’s decision to make certain that climate change was accurately […]

A Dialogue with the Curriculum of Our Nation: A Critical Reading of Moments

Courtney Cook sent this poetic response to the murder of Philando Castile to Rethinking Schools. We wanted to share it with our readers as a source of healing and a call to action. Cook is a former high school English teacher who has been engaged in justice work and critical education in high schools, prisons, and youth-run organizations. She currently teaches Sociocultural Issues in Education at University of Texas at Austin.

Why I’m voting for MORE

By Adam Sanchez This article was written by Rethinking Schools editor and New York City public school teacher Adam Sanchez. Rethinking Schools does not make endorsements in elections — whether for political […]

A People’s Curriculum for the Earth

By Tim Swinehart “We can’t hunt [because] the ice is receding. People are going hungry,” says one voice. “Us, too! It’s food. We can’t grow it in the desert,” says […]

Opting Out of the Education Reform Industry

High-stakes tests provide the data that is the very fuel of the corporate education reform machine. By opting out of these tests, students, parents, and teachers have the power to take away the data. With the data seized and the machine deprived of its fuel, the corporate reformers cannot produce public education for private gain. This is why opting out is so threatening to the reform industry—and it should be.

Hoodies Up! Black Lives Matter!

By Moé Yonamine “I don’t understand why people talk about him like he’s a criminal. He was a 17 year-old kid,” Kiana said. Kiana was one of more than 100 […]

Columbus Protest at UW-Madison

Time to Abolish Columbus Day

By Bill Bigelow Once again this year many schools will pause to commemorate Christopher Columbus. Given everything we know about who Columbus was and what he launched in the Americas, […]

Solidarity with Seattle Education Association

Dear Seattle Education Association, Rethinking Schools editors and staff express our solidarity as you go on strike for better schools for your students along with their families and for just […]

Urgent Action Alert: Chicago Hunger Strike

Rethinking Schools expresses solidarity with the 12 parents, grandparents, educators, and their supporters who are in the second week of a hunger strike for the Dyett High School of Global […]

The Children of Gaza

This editorial is featured in our upcoming issue: Teaching in Black and White. Subscribe today! Like millions around the world, Rethinking Schools editors have been horrified and angered by Israel’s assault […]

Teach About Mike Brown. But Don’t Stop There.

By Renée Watson   This time last summer, I researched articles and collected poems about police brutality, racial profiling, and the murders of black men in the United States. The […]

Educating the Gates Foundation

June 26, Rethinking Schools editor Wayne Au spoke at a Seattle rally protesting the role of the Gates Foundation in public education: “Educating the Gates Foundation.” The rally was sponsored […]