The Power And the Money
Michael S. Joyce could easily be mistaken for a middle-aged Clark Kent: glasses, hair thinning at the top, a waistline that’s growing but not out of control, a well-tailored but […]
Celebrating Joy and Laughter
Using Poems to Praise and to Think Critically
As a teacher trying to equip students to “unlearn the myths that bind them” in history, literature, and popular culture, I find it necessary to balance the critical stance we […]
A New School For Our Children
We have a solution to the space crunch in the Milwaukee Public Schools. Allow the kids to use the newly proposed Brewer Stadium on Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to […]
Teaching for Social Justice 8.3
Making Connections, Examining the World
It’s November and a student brings in a flyer about a canned food drive during the upcoming holiday season. The traditional teacher affirms the student’s interest — “That’s nice and […]
The Singing Strike And the Rebel Students
High School Students Take a Lesson from History
One morning in the spring of 1989, Jefferson High School English teacher Ruthann Hartley burst into my classroom waving a copy of Willamette Week, Portland’s entertainment and aimless-muckraking newspaper. “Have […]
Simple Solutions to Complex Problems
Why Susan Mitchell’s Critique of MPS Doesn’t Work
Last summer The New York Times ran a Bloomingdale’s advertisement with the headline “It’s All About Choices, And Individual Freedom.”1 The choices advertised included a turtleneck for $215, spandex pants […]
Parents, Schools & Conservative Ideology
In the past few years, educators and politicians have advocated increased parental involvement in schools. As part of these discussions, a few commentators have examined the sometimes illusory power granted […]
Which Side Are You On? Readers’ Views on Teacher Unions
Readers Respond About the Role of Teachers Unions
Rethinking Schools received a number of responses to the article by Bob Peterson on the role of teacher unions (Rethinking Schools, Vol. 8 #1) and his advocacy of “social justice” […]
