Responding to Tragedy

When a racist attack kills members of a local Sikh temple, a 2nd-grade teacher involves her students in a journey of connection and solidarity.

An Unfortunate Misunderstanding

Helping create an independent charter school seems like a dream job. But teachers, parents, and children soon confront all-too-familiar charter school woes.

Creative Conflict

A high school drama teacher searches for ways to encourage students to write about their lives without replicating stereotypes.

“Hey, Mom, I Forgive You”

An English teacher builds community as her students write a poem about forgiving or not forgiving. She starts with her own story.

A Pure Medley

In a class on culturally responsive teaching at Ithaca College, my professor, Jeff Claus, asked us to create poems of introduction. He was modeling how to use two of Linda […]

Paradise Lost

The film Paradise Lost – about the rising ocean that threatens Kiribati – proves an evocative introduction to a unit on climate change.

Challenging Corporate Ed Reform

The failures of the corporate education “reform” movement leave it vulnerable to genuine grassroots school transformation.

Sin Fronteras Boy

Fourth-grade English language learners use wikis to study border issues and gain literacy skills.

Rethinking the Day of Silence

When the Day of Silence doesn’t work at a middle school, staff and students look for another way to talk about LGBTQ issues.

Ban the Box!

Should the box about criminal history be eliminated from job applications? A role play helps students explore the lifelong impact of a felony conviction.

Our Grandparents’ Civil Rights Era

Second graders ask grandparents to write about their experiences during the Civil Rights Movement. The letters bring surprising wisdom – and some thought-provoking issues – to the classroom.