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?
Reflections
Teaching about Ukraine
Dear Rethinking Schools friends, Like you, we are angry and fearful about the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This is already causing immense suffering — which will only increase. These are […]
“Take These Nametags Off!”
A doctoral student tells the story of her experience with a dangerous role play — poorly conceptualized and taught — when she was an undergrad.
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.
The Story of a Seed
An agriculture teacher describes teaching “every seed has a story” with 1st graders by honoring the story of, and planting, the Makah Ozette potato.
Pledge to Teach the Truth
To respond to the right-wing legislation across the country, which attacks racial justice teaching, the Zinn Education Project organized a “Pledge to Teach the Truth” and invited educators to say […]
What I Wish I Had Said
An elementary teacher stories her struggle to speak up to a colleague about a racist nickname.
Dear Educators, It Is Time to Fight for Asian America
Although the increase in anti-Asian attacks has been hard for all of us, the murderous killing spree in Atlanta had our families, our youth, and our communities spiraling. From a […]
Dear Educators, It Is Time to Fight for Asian America
What is happening now is nothing new. The racism, the devaluing of life of Asian and Asian Americans, the dehumanizing of immigrant workers, the fetishism of — and violence toward — Asian women have been perpetuated throughout U.S. history.
A Message from the Future II: The Years of Repair
The latest installment of our regular Earth, Justice, and Our Classrooms column.
Our Stories: Students Curate the Museum of Corona History
The best teachers that I’ve had are still quiet voices in my head. In college, I took Professor Phyllis Jackson’s art history course “Black Aesthetics and the Politics of (Re)presentation.” […]
Say Their Names
“I can’t breathe . . . please . . . Mama!”The knee choking the neck to deathPolice hands in pockets andIndifferent expressionsAnother day on the J-O-BAnd moreMore details I can […]
The Uprising and Our Schools: Educators Speak Out
We asked a group of teachers and students to write about their experiences of the Black Lives Matter protests after the murder of George Floyd and during the uprisings for […]
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 […]
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 — […]
Coronavirus and Our Schools
We asked a group of teachers and students to write about their experience of school during the pandemic. We left it open-ended, but suggested they write about a particular experience that stood […]
The Pandemic Is a Portal
Who can use the term “gone viral” now without shuddering a little? Who can look at anything anymore — a door handle, a cardboard carton, a bag of vegetables — […]
“I Don’t Like China or Chinese People Because They Started This Quarantine”
On April 20, 2020, blogger LittleGrayThread made a Facebook post of a note her daughter had written. She reported that in a Zoom class meeting, one of her daughter’s 2nd-grade […]
The Freedom to Harm vs. the Freedom from Harm
The smartest piece I have read during the COVID-19 era is Ibram X. Kendi’s May 4 Atlantic article “We’re Still Living and Dying in the Slaveholders’ Republic.” When armed demonstrators […]
Teaching More Civics Will Not Save Us from Trump
A high school social studies teacher argues for rethinking how we teach civics so that students learn that organizing, activism, and civil disobedience are as important as the Constitution.
Action News – Wisconsin Uprising
Wisconsin Uprising — Justice Is in the Air
Do or Die Land
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We Don’t Need Another Soldier
A former student returns from the Marines
An Unnatural Disaster
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A Message from a Black Mom to Her Son
An African American mother and teacher educator uses examples from her own childhood to describe how she hopes her child will be treated by teachers, and what she fears.