Articles

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365 ARTICLES

October 4, 2012

Celebrate Reading Freedom with a Banned Book

Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 is my favorite book to teach. It’s the reason I became a high school English teacher. Years ago when my teacher handed me that book, I was both engrossed and frightened to learn of a dystopian world in which books were not only illegal, they were burned.

Topic

Bullying & Bias

October 1, 2012

Help Students Connect with Heroes, Not Bullies

Today, thousands of people will stand against bullying and wear a blue T-shirt in a worldwide event to raise awareness about bullying. It is known as Blue Shirt Day or World Day of Bullying Prevention.

Topic

Bullying & Bias

September 27, 2012

Disney’s Skinny Minnie Sends Wrong Message

My parents stopped patronizing our local cinema when I was a child because they were livid when the theater owner demanded to see a copy of my birth certificate as proof that I could pay the child admission price. The boycott lasted six years. Although it satisfied my mother’s desire to “not give that theater” her money, the theater’s business didn’t crumble. I am not sure it prevented the theater’s management from treating another young girl the same way.

Topic

Bullying & Bias Rights & Activism

September 20, 2012

Keep Students Strong While We Stop Bullies

After teaching a particularly grueling class, I looked forward to the solace of my 55-minute planning period. I started to organize the black hole that is my desk and found a folded piece of notebook paper with my name, Ms. Samsa, hastily scrawled onto it.

Topic

Gender & Sexual Identity Bullying & Bias

September 13, 2012

Intolerance Crumbled After Meeting a Family

A family of four came to speak to my high school juniors and seniors. Two dads and their 16-year-old daughter and 17-year-old son talked about their family, the adoption process and their experiences with discrimination and prejudice.

Topic

Gender & Sexual Identity Bullying & Bias

September 12, 2012

Students Need Tools to Create an Inclusive Climate

Jenny started the year desperate to make friends. She was new, immature for her age and starting seventh grade. Because of a learning disability, Jenny was reading and writing at a second-grade level. She tried to hide that from friends. But in the cover-up effort, she often badmouthed her classmates and created drama.

Topic

Ability Bullying & Bias

August 30, 2012

Who Will You Inspire Today?

Bill Gates said there would never have been a Microsoft were it not for his teachers, Fred Wright and Ann Stephens. I have to wonder if, at the time, they realized what influence they had. Was the year that they taught Gates one that stood out above the rest, or was it a school year in which they did what they always did—taught to their best ability?

Topic

Bullying & Bias

August 28, 2012

Unexpected Stereotypes and How to Combat Them

Whether it’s the bully or the blonde, the nerd or the jock, most of us are familiar with a wide range of stereotypes. We’ve also been affected by them. But there are plenty of unexpected stereotypes that need to be acknowledged as well.

Topic

Bullying & Bias

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