The Heroes We Need Today: Teaching About the Radical Ida B. Wells
A high school social studies teacher describes his mixer lesson in which students learn about the radical Ida B. Wells by taking on roles from various times in her life.
Social Studies + Government
Teaching Debt Pollution in Schools
A high school teacher has students problematize the conditions of their school to learn about funding disparities and the disastrous effects of district debt.
Teaching the Reconstruction Revolution
A high school social studies teacher describes a lesson that uses improvisations, historical fiction, and found poems to help students appreciate the first era of Black power: Reconstruction.
ZINN AT 100: Empire or Humanity?
Have we reached a point in history where we are ready to embrace a new way of living in the world, expanding not our military power, but our humanity?
Teaching for Peace in a Time of War
In his sadly timeless song “Masters of War,” Bob Dylan sang: You fasten all the triggers For the others to fire Then you sit back and watch When the death […]
Who Killed Reconstruction?
Sanchez describes a role play about the demise of Reconstruction that helps students get beyond the question “Was Reconstruction a success or failure?”
Zinn at 100: The Scourge of Nationalism
In honor of Zinn, we are featuring a “Zinn at 100” essay in each issue of Rethinking Schools this year. This is not nostalgia. We commemorate and celebrate Zinn for his ongoing relevance in helping us think about education and activism.
Teaching Voting Rights in the Time of Coronavirus
This year marks the 150th anniversary of the ratification of the 15th Amendment, which promised “the right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or […]
“But You Guys Wanted Us Here”
A film tackles the U.S. occupation of Japan.
Reviews 21.3
Books
We Don’t Need Another Soldier
A former student returns from the Marines
Who’s Crazy? Students Critique the The Gods Must Be Crazy
I wish I could say my colleagues Cresslyn Clay, Colin Pierce, and I had it all worked out from the beginning, and that we carefully crafted each nuance that prompted […]
Coal at the Movies
Video resources for the classroom, plus links to activist websites.
Review: Our Dignity Can Defeat Anyone
By Julie Treick O’Neill A review of the film Maquilapolis [City of Factories]
You’re Asian, How Could You Fail Math?
Have you ever sat next to an Asian student in class and wondered how she managed to consistently get straight A’s while you struggled to maintain a B-minus average? -from Top […]
Continent Ecology
Children’s books that promote environmental education in the primary grades.
Living Algebra, Living Wage
Eighth graders finally get what they ask for: an algebra lesson for the real world.”
Shaking Foundations
Virginia professors take on the state’s attempt to eliminate Social Foundations of Education” from required course work.”
Test Prep and the War
Preparing high schoolers for the Regents exam while studying the War in Iraq.
The War in Iraq and Daily Classroom Life
Suggestions from a 5th-grade teacher on bringing the War in Iraq into the curriculum.
Teaching About Global Warming in Truck Country
Helping kids who’ve grown up in the truck culture” examine climate change.
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Christopher Columbus and the Iraq War
How the myth built up around Columbus has helped condition kids to accept imperial adventures like the Iraq war.
Integrals and Equity
An AP calculus class at a prestigious boarding school doesn’t seem a likely venue for student reflection on privilege and wealth. But when I taught a group of academically inclined […]
The Tsunami and Other Disasters
The Dec. 26 tsunami swept away the lives of more than 200,000 people and ravaged the livelihoods of millions more. Throughout the world teachers and students discussed the tsunami and […]
See You When We Get There
Profiling an African American teacher on Chicago’s south side.