Classroom Practice

My Grades Will Not Be Instruments of War

How we grade students — or whether we grade students — has always been contested terrain. The pandemic has brought new attention to the politics of grading.  In the 1960s, […]

Talking to Young Children About COVID-19

COVID-19 descended upon Seattle, seeping in like a fog first in small ways, then eventually in signals we couldn’t ignore. Stores were empty, hours at our early childhood center were […]

The Last Time

I went swimming for the last time last summer in late August. I had a tattoo planned for the next weekend, which would mean a few weeks of no swimming — […]

Stop the School-to-Prison Pipeline

“Every man in my family has been locked up. Most days I feel like it doesn’t matter what I do, how hard I try—that’s my fate, too.”—11th-grade African American student, […]

The Classroom to Prison Pipeline

A master teacher faces a classroom revolt. She realizes that, no matter how imminent the high-stakes test, stopping the school-to-prison pipeline begins in the classroom with student-centered, meaningful curriculum.

Bad Signs

What are the real messages in the inspirational slogans covering classroom walls? Plus some better alternatives.

Rethinking MySpace

As an educator constantly searching for ways to use popular culture in my classroom

Queer Matters

While we were excited to support the opening of the educational closet

Beyond Anthologies

A veteran teacher laments the trend toward mandated curriculum and argues that teachers should choose materials that address students’ lives and social issues.

Acting In and On the World

Oregon students and teachers learn life lessons by participating in the ‘Theater of the Oppressed’.

Language Lessons

Using native Spanish speakers to instruct their classmates in more than just verbs and pronunciation.

Following The Flame

Teacher and students discover that even critically acclaimed literature can disenfranchise as well as empower.