While attending school full-time, Jessica teaches undergraduate classes and facilitates pre-service teachers' field-experience work in local public schools. She frequently presents at conferences and is conducting an ongoing research project with a high school social studies teacher. Kobe is also a teacher consultant for the Red Clay Writing Project (a local branch of the National Writing Project).
In this excerpt, Garang tells his story of how he became a lost boy when war destroyed his village. Walking with thousands of other orphaned boys, Garang travels thousands of dangerous miles from southern Sudan to a refugee camp in Ethiopia.
by
Mary Williams and R. Gregory Christie (illustrator)
Examining “classic” literature presents the opportunity for a fascinating study in historical gender roles, but a comparison with today’s media can help students uncover shocking similarities.
When this teacher asked newly-minted sixth-graders how they want to treat themselves, others and their communities during middle school, paper airplanes made for a creative way for these students to offer answers.
In this poem, the speaker traces the senseless killings taking place abroad and at home, with a particular focus on the African-American community. The speaker also calls communities to action to "grow our hope and heal our hearts" in order to live together in peace.
Gender, sexuality and religion are common themes in challenged books of 2015. Rather than effectively ban these topics from the classroom, TT recommends teaching about them and offers student texts to do so.
Helping students understand how ideology influences decisions allows them to be more thoughtful and engaged participants in society. Examining banned books is one way into that awareness and engagement.