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This piece is to accompany the Teaching Tolerance article "Getting the Civil War Right." Some historians have called the period of Reconstruction that followed the Civil War the "second American Revolution" and the 13th

Minnesota youth and elders turn life histories into song.

Whenever I see a movie about teachers, I get a little nervous. I wonder how my profession will be represented. I’m always curious, but usually disappointed. I have found that on-screen teachers tend to perpetuate two frustrating stereotypes about the profession. The first is that anyone can teach—or worse—“those who can’t, teach.” There’s a misconception that teaching requires no special skills or talents beyond a basic knowledge of the content area. The other stereotype is teacher as martyr-saint. This portrayal assumes that the one qualification for being a good teacher is a heart of gold, a willingness to sacrifice everything out of love for children. Most films ignore the complexity of the craft of teaching. This makes me cringe.

During a day of lessons about Asian-American culture and history, students in this Philadelphia school experienced deep learning and reflection.

“So, there aren’t any girls in the book?” Find out how an English teacher answered this student question—and fit the male-centered Lord of the Flies into a classroom focused on voices traditionally left in the margins.

This fourth-grade teacher, a TT Award winner, offers some classroom suggestions to make Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day an opportunity for deep, personal engagement—not a day off.

Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Dean Hamer shares how his documentary A Place in the Middle, co-directed with Joe Wilson, can help students see the value of inclusion, the power of cultural heritage and their ability to create a more positive school climate.

The start of the school year is an important time to remember that names have meaning—whether they belong to monuments, mountains or to your own students.