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 […]
Updates
Teaching About Trayvon
People of conscience are outraged and saddened over the acquittal of George Zimmerman last Saturday—and the conviction of Trayvon Martin. We need to find ways to engage our students in […]
Join the critical conversation on edTPA
We’re pleased to announce that the summer issue of Rethinking Schools magazine features a special forum with three perspectives on edTPA, the high-stakes test for new teachers that is being […]
Layoffs and School Closures in Philadelphia
Below we preview our Action Education column from our Summer issue, about the massive school closings in Philadelphia. Helen Gym, a Rethinking Schools editor, is a parent and long-time activist […]
Mexican American Studies Lives On
If you have seen the remarkable film Precious Knowledge, about the Mexican American Studies (MAS) program in Tucson, you’ll remember Curtis Acosta, the caring and charismatic high school language arts teacher. […]
‘Queer Matters’ and other LGBTQ resources
June is Gay and Lesbian Pride month. At Rethinking Schools, we’ve been writing about gender and sexuality for a long time, including issues affecting the LGBTQ community. We’re pleased to […]
Lord of the Lies
by Bill Bigelow Portland, Oregon language arts teacher, Michelle Kenney, has written a provocative article for Rethinking Schools about some of her curricular choices—and how what seem like great ideas […]
Reading Suggestions for Screen-Free Week
Young children spend an average of 32 hours per week in front of screens. The number is even higher for older children. These alarming numbers provide as good a reason […]
Scrap the MAP International Day of Solidarity on May 1
As you are no doubt aware, increasingly powerful corporate interests are attempting to reduce teaching and learning to what’s on a standardized test. We have all seen these tests be used […]
Reclaim AERA: Protest Arne Duncan Speech
By Ann Berlak For the first time since I can remember some members of the American Educational Research Association (AERA)—the largest association of educators and educational researchers in the world—are […]
Teaching About the Wars: Interview with the Editor
Last month, just in time for the 10th anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, we released a collection of our best writing about U.S military involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan, Teaching About […]
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 […]
Politics of Naming
Many of you are familiar with the Zinn Education Project, a collaboration between Rethinking Schools and Teaching for Change. We’re pleased to announce that this April, Diversity Month, the Zinn […]
Lessons from the Atlanta testing scandal
Bob Peterson, a Rethinking Schools founding editor and president of the Milwaukee Teachers’ Education Association, reflects on the Atlanta testing scandal and the lessons we might learn from it. This […]
A few resources for National Poetry Month
April is National Poetry Month! If you’ve been reading our work for any length of time, you know we’re big fans of poetry, both reading it and using it as […]
Charter Schools and the Future of Public Education
It’s time to refocus public policy on providing excellent public schools for all. by Stan Karp Previously published in the NJEA Review, March 2013. Somewhere along the way, nearly every […]
Free access to Dirty Oil and Shovel-Ready Jobs
With the pending decision about the Keystone XL pipeline in the news–along with the recent huge anti-pipeline demonstrations in Washington, D.C.–we are sharing articles and resources from our archives about […]
Leading Educators Support Teacher Test Boycott
In a public statement released today, more than sixty educators and researchers [UPDATE: now 130+], including some of the most well-respected figures in the field of education, pledged support for […]
Proud to be a Garfield Bulldog
by Wayne Au On the afternoon of Thursday, January 10th, a group of about 15 teachers stood together in the front of room 206 at Garfield High School in Seattle, […]
Rethinkin’ Lincoln
If you’re thinking about going to see the movie “Lincoln” over the holiday break, first read the latest “If We Knew Our History” column by Rethinking Schools curriculum editor Bill […]
The fight against privatization continues. This time in Philadelphia
Recently Philadelphia school parents and the local chapter of the NAACP filed a complaint with the City Ethics Board alleging that a major foundation and the Boston Consulting Group had […]
High-Stakes Harm
Last week, we sent the following message to the folks who have signed up for our e-news, and we didn’t want you to miss out on this special deal. If […]
Crenshaw High and the Battle Over School Reform
A recent Education Week article reported that between 2009 and 2011, 3,700 public schools in the US were closed. Reuters reported that school closings in 2010-11 were up 60% from ten years earlier. The […]
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 […]