With year’s end come reflections and resolutions—a promise to learn from the past and look forward to a brighter future. A good practice in pedagogy and a good practice in life.
In 2017, Teaching Tolerance worked to meet educators wherever they were, offering resources and guidance on timely, critical challenges. Educators utilized our revamped grants program to bring innovative project ideas to life. They used our new Digital Literacy Framework to compensate for a lack of resources and time in helping their students become responsible online citizens. They combated outside hostility aimed at immigrants and first-generation citizens by informing their lessons with our updated guide for teaching English language learners and resources we offered to support DREAMers. With hate incidents in school on the rise, educators improved their school climates and responded to bias in their hallways using the processes outlined in our school climate package.
And when an open display of bigotry turned to tragedy in Charlottesville, educators found guidance to confidently discuss it with their students.
The following articles, magazine features and PD resources resonated most with the TT community in 2017. And they all shared a common mission: to not just look back at what happened, but to look toward what’s possible. We hope reflecting on our best and most-used resources of 2017 will help steel your resolve as you work for a better—and more equitable—tomorrow.
Articles
Discussing #TakeAKnee in Class
When the spotlight returned to the act of kneeling during the national anthem, Teaching Tolerance offered guidance on discussing the issue in the classroom.
Ten Myths About Immigration—Updated!
Educators and students need to understand the facts about immigration and immigrants in the United States now more than ever. This can help.
Mexican culture cannot be reduced to tacos, oversized sombreros and piñatas. Teaching and learning specialist Lauryn Mascareñaz explains the history behind the holiday—and how to approach it in the classroom.
What’s a Sanctuary City Anyway?
The news has been abuzz with the term sanctuary city since President Trump issued an executive order on the matter in early 2017. Attorney Naomi Tsu, who directs the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Immigrant Justice Project, explains exactly what sanctuary cities are.
DACA Decision Puts DREAMers Back in Limbo
The White House and Justice Department potentially closed a door on some of the United States’ most vital and courageous individuals. As educators, this is not an issue we can ignore. Instead, here’s what we can do.
Why is anti-Muslim bias on the rise in the United States? How much do your students know about Islam and its followers? Explore these questions with two student-friendly videos.
Why I Will Not be Teaching About Charlottesville
After Charlottesville, this black teacher of black and brown students knew that her kids would not want another lesson about bigotry and racism. Here’s what she did instead.
Teaching Tolerance regularly publishes timely articles and coverage that don’t appear in our magazine. Check out our latest articles here.
Magazine Features
Immigrant and Refugee Children: A Guide for Educators and School Support Staff
Now, more than ever, these vulnerable students need advocates in schools. This guide offered resources for those hoping to be that advocate.
White nationalism has come out of the basement and entered the mainstream. This 101 gives educators some important background on the so-called “alt-right” and how to recognize it if it enters the classroom.
Wildin Acosta walked across the graduation stage in June 2017—but he almost didn't make it. Read about his incredible journey and the team of student journalists and teachers who helped make it happen.
An Open Letter to Teachers Everywhere
Are you ready for a revolution? This veteran educator is.
Why Teaching Black Lives Matter Matters
All educators have the civic responsibility to learn and teach the basic history and tenets of this movement for racial justice.
This Latina civic empowerment program seeks to “take stories of adversity and flip them into stories of glory."
Practices that help students control their impulses can also mask systemic failures.
Journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones tells the hard truth about why so many students still attend segregated schools.
Bullying and the Bottom LineThe cost of bullying isn’t just psychological and physical; it’s also fiscal.
You can subscribe to our magazine here. It's free to educators.
PD: Publications and Webinars
Serving ELL Students and Families
Reviewing a few key practices as a staff can help move the entire school toward a comprehensive and culturally responsive approach to serving English language learners and their families. This guide can help get the process started.
Equity Matters: Developing Empathy
The first webinar in the Equity Matters series addresses the importance of empathy in our interactions with students and in students’ interactions with others.
Let’s Talk! Teaching Black Lives Matter
This sequel webinar to Let's Talk! Discussing Black Lives Matter in the Classroom reviews the education-related policy demands within the Movement for Black Lives' platform: Invest-Divest and Community Control.
Learning Plans
How can we build connection and understanding between diverse groups? This Teaching Tolerance learning plan helps students in grades 9-12 get there.
This Teaching Tolerance learning plan lets kids in grades K-2 explore this essential question: How do people show that they are proud of themselves?
This learning plan for students in grades 3-5 illustrates how people with different abilities are treated, and what gifts they contribute to a community.
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