Articles

For me, the main activity of the first few days of 2011 has been the big “P.” Purge. Purge. Purge. Together, with my two children, we tossed “Baby Einstein” videotapes, Elmo board books and clothing for babies and for toddlers, into giant boxes destined for Goodwill. We filled an entire mini-van. And, I now feel lighter. A good cleansing can be so refreshing.

STEM classes have long been dominated by white males. Here are ways to make these fields more attractive to girls and students of color.

Slavery never went away, and students need to know how it affects today’s world.

Twitter, Google Docs and their cousins shrink the spaces between cultures even as they expand the reach of a typical classroom. How can you use them to promote social justice?

Any teacher looking to combat bullying should start with the Teaching Tolerance documentary Bullied: A Student, a School and a Case That Made History. This free movie includes a viewers guide with great anti-bullying

Our food supply depends on immigrant labor. Seven new Teaching Tolerance lessons bring this important message into the classroom.

A year ago, we introduced a new curriculum, Civil Discourse in the Classroom and Beyond, citing the “pressing need to change the tenor of public debate from shouts and slurs to something more reasoned.” This weekend’s carnage in Tucson, with Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords gravely injured, six people dead and 14 others wounded, is a terrible tragedy, not just for the victims and their families. It is a tragedy for a nation whose political process depends on people airing issues, managing conflict and confronting controversy in the public square.

Read this installment of the "Why I Teach" series.

Students challenge stereotypes when they see the people behind the slogans.

Followers of Islam face widespread prejudice in the United States. How can teachers help students overcome these attitudes?