Teaching Haniyah
Several years ago, I taught a unit on power in my 9th-grade social studies classes at Berkeley High School in California’s Bay Area. It’s a diverse school—rich folks from the […]
Classroom Practice
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
Textbook Scripts, Student Lives
Textbooks
Bonfire of the Disney Princesses
Contrary to their spin machine, Disney’s princesses are far from role models
Queer Matters
While we were excited to support the opening of the educational closet
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 […]
Taking A Chance With Words
None of my schools issued uniforms. What I did wear was a uniform in my head which kept me in line, out of trouble. It was a suit which had […]
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.
‘I Just Want to Read Frog and Toad’
Another child’s love of reading runs smack into No Child Left Behind.
‘Use Another Word’
One school’s campaign against put-downs.
Lies My Spanish Textbooks Tell
Latinos dance, they sing, they happily play baseball. And what great food!
Playing with Gender
Three 4-year-old boys sat in a circle, each with a doll tucked under his shirt. “It’s time to have our babies!” Nicholas* declared. One by one, the boys pulled their […]
Rhetoric or Reality?
Do small schools change teaching practice?
Heather’s Moms Got Married
Last spring, my second graders gathered on the rug, discussing the impending 50th anniversary of the historic Brown vs. Board of Education decision. I asked how their lives would have […]
Framing the Family Tree
My seven-year-old daughter came home from school with a handmade calico tie for her dad for Father’s Day. The oversized tie was carefully cut from the blue and orange fabric […]
Welcoming Kalenna
When I was a child, our home was filled with the sounds of Spanish, mariachi music, and boisterous conversations. At home, my Nana cooked enchiladas, menudo, and tamales. During family celebrations we broke piñatas, danced, and […]
Holding Nyla
Nyla* came into our Head Start classroom wheeled by her special aassistant and surrounded by three early intervention (EI) specialists. I could barely see her for the equipment, adults, and […]
It’s a Good Thing
Teachers can help students express values both in and outside of the classroom.
The Politics of Correction
Nurturing student writing to make it language of power”.”
Unwrapping the Holidays
A first-year teacher’s naivety has repercussions.
Exploring Women’s Rights
A first-grade teacher uses the 1908 Bread and Roses textile strike to help her students understand International Women’s Day.