Be Our Lifeline Campaign
“Every time I get a new issue of the magazine, I am inspired and feel more hopeful about the work that I am trying to engage in. The books I’ve […]
social justice
Take Sides for the Earth and Teach Climate Justice
TEACHING CLIMATE CHANGE AND THE ENVIRONMENTAL CRISIS As we celebrate Earth Day, we invite you to join us in taking sides for the Earth by teaching climate justice and becoming […]
Trump and Our Students
Dear Rethinking Schools friends, And so it begins. At a high school in rural Oregon, south of Portland, 30 to 40 white students celebrated Trump this week in front of […]
The Roots of Racist Violence in Milwaukee
Editor’s note: Milwaukee is the latest city to erupt as a result of the police shooting of a Black man. As in Ferguson and Baltimore, the outrage in Milwaukee last […]
Hoodies Up! Black Lives Matter!
By Moé Yonamine “I don’t understand why people talk about him like he’s a criminal. He was a 17 year-old kid,” Kiana said. Kiana was one of more than 100 […]
Editorial: Teaching as Defiance
Originally published in Rethinking Schools VOLUME 29, ISSUE 4 — SUMMER 2015.Recently, we posted an article at the Rethinking Schools Facebook page that listed reasons why parents should opt their children […]
Rhythm and Resistance: Teaching Poetry for Social Justice
Our new book, Rhythm and Resistance edited by Linda Christensen and Dyan Watson, offers practical lessons about how to teach poetry to build community, understand literature and history, talk back to injustice, […]
Rhythm & Resistance: New Book and Spring Magazine
Rhythm and Resistance This month, Rethinking Schools publishes Rhythm and Resistance: Teaching Poetry for Social Justice, edited by Linda Christensen and Dyan Watson. Our spring issue features three articles from […]
Black Students’ Lives Matter: Building the school-to-justice pipeline
By the editors of Rethinking Schools Read the full article on our website: rethinkingschools.org. We’re at a tipping point. The killings of Trayvon Martin, Jordan Davis, Mike Brown, Tamir Rice, Renisha […]
Educating the Gates Foundation
June 26, Rethinking Schools editor Wayne Au spoke at a Seattle rally protesting the role of the Gates Foundation in public education: “Educating the Gates Foundation.” The rally was sponsored […]
Two Rethinking Schools Books Earn Awards
We have wonderful news. Two of our recent books earned Honor Awards from Skipping Stones magazine–a journal that has been celebrating exceptional multicultural children’s literature and professional education resources for over 26 […]
What does it take to publish a book?
by Jody Sokolower We’re in the middle of a crowdfunding campaign to raise money to publish Rethinking Sexism, Gender, and Sexuality. Our goal is $20,000 and we still have about […]
Sixty Years After Brown: “Segregation Forever”?
We recently learned of an interview by Democracy Now! with journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones, who discusses the segregation that persists in public schools around the United States. Watch a brief segment here: You […]
Rethinking Sexism, Gender, and Sexuality: Join our campaign!
by Jody Sokolower How do you respond when a child asks, “Can a girl turn into a boy?” in the middle of circle time? What if your daughter brings home […]
Launching a Social Justice Writing Group
by Grace Cornell Gonzales Last year, during a Teachers 4 Social Justice salon in San Francisco, I read Henry Giroux’s “Teachers as Transformative Intellectuals” for the first time. It’s a […]
Rethinking Multicultural Education: Teaching for Racial and Cultural Justice
by Wayne Au This post is an excerpt from the introduction to our new and expanded 2nd edition of Rethinking Multicultural Education: Teaching for Racial and Cultural Justice published just last […]
“The Agitator” at Rethinking Schools
Helen Gym is a member of the Rethinking Schools editorial board, but that is only one of many hats she wears in her life as a mom, spouse, educator, and […]
“What Do You Mean When You Say Urban?” and other resources for multicultural teaching
Earlier this month, we set up shop at the annual meeting of the National Association for Multicultural Education (NAME). It’s always a joy to see old friends and meet folks […]
What’s in a name
Perhaps you’ve followed the controversy around the name of the NFL team Washington “Redskins.” They have faced a lot of pressure, and rightly so, to ditch the offensive name. Sadly, […]
“Sharing the Movement” and other resources for teaching the Civil Rights Movement
Today is the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. A time when hundreds of thousands of people stood up for justice and a better life. […]
Indiana’s Anti-Howard Zinn Witch Hunt
by Bill Bigelow Howard Zinn, author of A People’s History of the United States, one of the country’s most widely read history books, died on January 27, 2010. Shortly after, then-Governor of […]
We’re an Utne Media Award Nominee
by Bill Bigelow We are honored to announce that Rethinking Schools has been nominated for a 2013 Utne Media Award in the category of Social/Cultural Coverage. This is the 24th year of the Media […]
The Struggle for Mexican American Studies Continues
Many of you are familiar with the work of Tucson teacher Curtis Acosta. Acosta is the warm and eloquent—and photogenic!—language arts teacher featured in the film, Precious Knowledge, about Tucson’s […]
Resources for American Indian Month
Over the years, Debbie Reese’s work has been an important resource for educators. Her website, American Indians in Children’s Literature, is an authoritative source of analysis, and was one of […]
Won’t Back Down won’t be real about school reform
Thinking about seeing a movie this weekend? Take our advice and avoid Won’t Back Down. Below, Helen Gym, a Rethinking Schools editorial associate and parent activist in Philadelphia, shares why. Her commentary […]