Reproductive Justice and Our Classrooms

There is no end-point in the fight for justice and equality, no moment when the argument is finally settled. As Angela Davis has said, “Freedom is a constant struggle.” Although that proposition seems exhausting, it is also hopeful. If our wins are never wholly secure, then neither must our losses be permanent. The struggle for reproductive justice continues, and our curriculum must nurture our students’ capacity to envision and participate in its next stages.

Taking the Long View: The Organizing Tradition

As we go to press, 30,000 Chicago teachers and education support personnel—joined by parents, students, and community members—are out on strike for the first time in 25 years. The first […]

Blowin’ in the Wind

We’ll need everything we’ve learned and built in the past 25 years to keep fighting for social justice education.

Saving Our Schools from Superheroes

This isn’t just about a bad film. The outpouring of critique and activism that greeted last fall’s release of Waiting for “Superman” was a hopeful sign of resistance. Educators, parents, and activists […]

What’s Up with All the Teacher Bashing?

It’s hard not to take it personally: A few months ago, the cover of Newsweek consisted of 11 sentences in chalk on a blackboard. They all said the same thing: “We must […]

The Fordham Foundation

‘The anniversary of Sept. 11 found the nation and our schools still wrestling uneasy…’

Rethinking the Basal Reader

The first editorial by Rethinking Schools speaks across the years to provide perspective on today’s push for standardization.

Clear-Cutting Our Schools

No single policy reflects the bankruptcy of current education reform politics more than the mass closings of public schools. From Chicago to Washington, D.C., to New Orleans, Detroit, and Philadelphia, […]

The 2020 Election and the World Our Students Deserve

The central tasks of the 2020 campaign are to defeat Trump and to strengthen the impact of grassroots social movements on the U.S. political system. If we pursue these goals with energy, hope, and passion, we will win a chance to build the world our students deserve.

Teaching in the Time of Trump

Rethinking Schools was born in the time of Reagan. We celebrate our 30th anniversary in the time of Trump. We know something about holding on to hope during hard times. […]

Enseñando en la era de Trump

Repensando las escuelas nació en la era de Reagan. Celebramos nuestro décimo tercer aniversario en la era de Trump. Sabemos algo acerca de mantenernos esperanzados durante los tiempos difíciles. Hace […]

Educators and the Climate Crisis

Jenna Pope On Sept. 21, 2014, 400,000 people poured into the streets of New York City for the People’s Climate March. As Democracy Now! reported: “With a turnout far exceeding […]

The Children of Gaza

Like millions around the world, Rethinking Schools editors have been horrified and angered by Israel’s assault on the Palestinian people of Gaza. Of the more than 2,100 Palestinians killed, the […]

Restorative Justice

Misbehave, get punished. That pretty much sums up the approach to “disciplining” students that educators through the decades have taken in schools and classrooms. The most extreme form of this […]

The Gathering Resistance to Standardized Tests

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan touched off a torrent of criticism last November when he told a group of state school superintendents that opposition to the Common Core State […]